big bang (nothing, then everything)
by alovelyghost
Summary: "Who are you?" demands the one at the forefront of the group - black trench coat, red gloves, black-and-white masquerade mask. The one whose fake gun definitely worked earlier. "I don't know," she replies, because she doesn't, though she hadn't yet thought about it. (Or, Hamuko wakes up with no memories. The Phantom Thieves help her.)[crossposted on ao3]
1. i

Cold.

It's_ cold._

For some reason, that's surprising, but she can't grasp why.

Well, she can't grasp anything. Or she can't, and then she can. Some part of her knows she shouldn't feel cold because she should feel _anything._ She shouldn't _know_ anything, either. She is not a being. She is nothing, she is nowhere, she is everything and everywhere.

She can't _feel._

So why is she cold?

She wiggles her toes.

She shouldn't have toes.

She doesn't remember anything, but she knows she should not have toes. She should. . . be dead? Perhaps.

Her eyes open of their own accord - she notes that she should also not have eyes - and then immediately shut. It's bright. Or perhaps it is dim, but she is unused to having eyes. Anything is bright when previously there was only nothing. After a moment she tentatively opens them again. She can't make sense of her surroundings, so she looks at herself instead. She's wearing a dark school uniform that feels familiar, but she can't quite place where she knows it from. The waistband holds a flip phone, which doesn't seem to work, so she puts it back.

She reaches up to touch her face, which feels very much like a face should, she supposes. She can't remember what faces feel like, but this is probably it. Even higher, she touches her hair. It feels unwashed and messy, and as she pulls it down she realizes it is much longer than she expects it to be. It reaches her waist, but she expected shoulder-length - for some reason. The lighting is off, but her hair looks a bit orangey-brown. Auburn, maybe? If she had to pick a color, anyway.

Nothing left to be gained from inspecting herself, she turns her attention back to her surroundings. At the very least, she's in an enclosed area. It's very. . . red. And black. She's more of an orange person, herself, but she doesn't think that's why it's so unsettling. There's a blue glow coming from ahead, up a set of stairs she has only just noticed.

Blue is familiar.

Blue. . .

She heads for the blue light because she feels that she will be safe wherever it takes her - though she has no rational explanation for why a color could signify safety. The glow comes into focus as she reaches the top of the stairs, emanating from an equally blue door. As she nears it, however, her entire body screams it's dangerous, so she backs up a safe distance away and looks around this new area.

This is. . .

An entrance to a subway?

Somehow she hadn't noticed it before, although she had climbed familiar stairs to get here. There are more stairs to her left, so she climbs those as well - leading her to an unfamiliar city, doused in red. Nobody seems to be around, and as she tries to wander farther, it just seems as if she stays in the same spot. No sense in continuing to try. Back inside she goes, down the original set of stairs to where she woke up, carefully avoiding the glowing blue door.

Still a subway, but no train, or people. There are tracks that she hadn't noticed before - probably too focused on investigating the glow.

Something glitters close to the track, so she goes over and picks it up. It seems to be a pistol, with the acronym S.E.E.S emblazoned on the side. There doesn't seem to be anywhere to load bullets, though, almost like a fake gun - made of convincingly real metal. It's hefty like a real gun too, so she does not take the risk of touching the trigger. But. . .

She glances at the tracks. They lead deeper. There's no way out up the stairs. She refuses to go near the blue door. There's nowhere else to go, and she doesn't like being a sitting duck. Damsel in distress, she is not. She has a gun. Do damsels in distress have guns? Probably not. She carefully lowers herself onto the tracks, takes a deep breath, and makes her way into the darkness.

It's not particularly scary, she finds. Weird, yes. Distorted, yes. Scary? No. She has a feeling she's seen similar things, because it doesn't affect her. There are weird. . . she expects globs, not that she knows why she should expect moving globs, but instead they are more like. . . mountain men? Men made of mountains, wearing masks. Actually, upon further inspection, they seem to be made out of subway cars. They avoid her as she continues. Actively run from her, even, which makes her feel some sort of powerful, and also gives her a breath of relief, considering she's not actually sure her gun is real.

Eventually, she finds the stairs down. She expected them to go up - though, this is a subway. Going down makes sense. The - monsters? Mountain men? Subway men?

_". . . You saw those creatures. We call them Shadows."_

Shadows.

The Shadows continue to evade her as she moves down, but. . . well, if they're avoiding her, they can't be too strong, can they? Maybe she should fight them. She aims the gun at one, and _click_. It does nothing. Great. So her gun is useless. Maybe she should go back up, in case the shadows stop avoiding her as she goes farther in.

But there's nothing up there. There's nowhere to go but further down.

She continues on her path. If this isn't what she was meant to do, she would've woken up somewhere else. Down, down, down, down, down she goes. She rests when there are resting spots - small areas that lack any Shadow activity - but otherwise continues going. The Shadows keep avoiding her.

Eventually, there is a sound. It feels very much like it should signify the Big Bang - the presence of life when previously there was none.

She supposes she counts as life, so the metaphor doesn't quite work, but only after she hears the sound does she become aware of how eerily silent it's been the whole time she's been making her way down. She goes toward the source of the noise, eventually coming upon. . . people in costumes? They're fighting a Shadow - but not the kind she's used to.

It looks more like. . .

"Persona!" calls a girl in a tight red catsuit. A being materializes behind the girl and sends fireballs at the Shadow. The Shadow - which looks familiar in a way that she does not expect it to - responds by knocking the girl down. Backup arrives. The group seems surrounded, and they are not exactly doing well. She could help, but - all she has is a fake gun.

She watches as one of them - wearing a black trench coat and red gloves - points the fakest looking gun she's ever seen and fires. It hits the Shadow. It works, so why doesn't hers?

_"I chooseth this fate of mine own will."_

What did the girl say?

Persona. . .

She raises the gun to her head. Someone - is that a UFO? - finally notices and calls out in a panic, but now she's sure of what she's doing. "Per. . . so. . . na." She shoots. Someone screams. Messiah bursts forth in all his glory, almost like a long-forgotten friend. "Megidolaon!" she calls instinctively. There are Shadows, and then there are not. She glances at the group. Most look hurt. The catsuit girl from earlier is heaving, but staring at her in confusion. She casts Salvation, which restores the party's health.

She doesn't know how she knew to do that - or how she knew which powers to call upon. She feels a bit woozy.

One moment she is staring at the costumed group, and the next there is a gun pointed at her.

Which. . . yeah, to be fair, she'd be a bit suspicious too, even if she did just save their lives.

"Who are you?" demands the one at the forefront of the group - black trench coat, red gloves, black-and-white masquerade mask. The one who's gun definitely worked earlier.

"I don't know," she replies, because she doesn't, though she hadn't yet thought about it.

"How did you get here?"

"I don't know."

"What is that?"

She looks down at her gun, where the boy is pointing.

_"We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."_

"Evoker," she replies vaguely, a little dizzy. "Summons my Persona."

And then she promptly passes out.

* * *

_She dreams of clocks, and Shadows, and doors._

_She dreams of being everything and nothing, and then not._

_She dreams of masks, and red, and black._

She wakes up bathed in the blue glow of the suspicious door, surrounded by the mask-wearers.

"Hello," says black-and-white mask.

"Hello," she replies. She's still a bit woozy, but not nearly as much as before. "Why are you wearing a mask?"

This does not seem to be what he expected her to ask. He replies quickly anyway. "We're the Phantom Thieves." He says _Phantom Thieves_, proper noun. She can hear the emphasis.

"Phantom Thieves? What do you steal?"

The others mutter amongst themselves, but she's too busy staring at the boy, who glances at his still-muttering group before answering. "Distorted desires, mostly."

Phantom Thieves of the mind, how interesting. "What's your name?" she blurts, with little to no input from her brain.

"What's your name?" black-and-white counters.

This, her mind continues to not supply. She pretends not to notice that he didn't answer her. "I already told you, I don't know."

". . . Do you remember anything at all?"

"Certain things. Mostly related to this. . . whatever this is. Shadows. Personas. My Evoker." She stands abruptly, startling the masked group. She's shorter than black-and-white mask. Well, actually, she's shorter than almost all of them, except the anthropomorphic cat thing, and the UFO girl. "What is that?" she asks, pointing to the cat.

The cat huffs. "I'm Morgana. I am not a cat."

That really doesn't answer her question, but she's not going to argue with it. She's accustomed to strange, after all, even if she can't remember the strange she previously experienced.

(She supposes waking up with amnesia in a red and black world counts as previously experienced strangeness, considering it did happen prior to meeting Morgana the not-cat, but she has a feeling that's not why she's so unsurprised by the whole endeavor.)

She looks around. Her gaze involuntarily lingers on the blue door, but she continues looking around once she notices black-and-white staring at her. "Is there a way out of here? I tried earlier, but. . ."

Red catsuit speaks up. "Would you like to leave?"

She nods, so they start leading her to the red city. A silver-haired little girl wearing blue opens the door and peaks out. They make eye contact, and the girl flinches away, slamming the door as she re-enters the room. No one seems to notice it but black-and-white mask.

_You have now entered the real world. Welcome back._

Indeed, the city is transformed to bustling, losing its red glow. She glances behind her. Normal subway stairs. The mask-wearers have lost their masks and outfits, and they appear to be high school students. "Kurusu Akira," black-and-white - the Fool, supplies her inner voice - says politely. "It's dangerous to say real names in there."

And yet he had asked for hers. Red catsuit introduces herself as Takamaki Ann - Lovers, and the rest clamor after her. Sakamoto Ryuji - blond, energetic, loud. Chariot. Kitagawa Yusuke - blue hair, quiet demeanor. It seems familiar, but she can't place the feeling. Emperor. Niijima Makoto - red eyes, brown hair, formal. Priestess. Sakura Futaba - orange hair, purple eyes, nervous. Hermit. Okumura Haru - light brown hair, pink sweater, shy. Empress. And Morgana the not-cat, now taking a very cat-like appearance, but still able to talk. Magician.

"Oh, we should probably give you a name, right? Since you don't remember, you know?" Takamaki says. The others nod their assent and look at her expectantly, so she nods as well. There's no harm in having a name, really. She doesn't question that no one has brought up cops or hospitals - considering the world she was found in. And the Evoker tucked in her waistband. And the fact that she was found by the Phantom Thieves (proper noun).

Okumura looks over her consideringly. "Uhm, is Hanako alright?"

Hanako. . . it's not quite right, but it'll do. It feels close to where she needs to be, anyway. "Hanako is nice."

The not-cat Morgana jumps off Kurusu's shoulder and inspects her. "Gekkoukan High, huh? Is that a school nearby?"

Niijima thinks for a moment, then pulls out her phone and confirms something. "Gekkoukan High School is located on Tatsumi Port Island, a man-made extension of the city Iwatodai. It was built by the Kirijo Group following the destruction of the building before it. It's a very prestigious school."

Iwatodai, Gekkoukan, Kirijo. . . it sounds familiar in the way that Hanako seems close enough of a name, so that has to be the right direction. "Oh! That reminds me!" She takes the phone off her waistband - noting that it seems to be much older than Niijima's - and flips it open. By some miracle, it still has charge, most likely not working earlier because of the strange world she woke up in.

_Contacts:_

_Akihiko-senpai_

_Bebe_

_Fuuka-chan_

_Ken-kun_

_Kirijo-senpai_

_Min_

_Rio_

_Saori_

_Shinji_

_Stupei_

_Yuka-tan_

"I have a Kirijo-senpai in my phone," Hanako notes out loud. She tries calling it, but it doesn't work. "Oh, but I don't think I have service."

Niijima perks up. "There's only one living Kirijo - Kirijo Mitsuru. Perhaps that's our lead."

Kurusu holds a whispered conversation with Morgana and Takamaki. "Right. Ann-chan and I are going to get crepes. Hanako-san, if you'd join us? And anyone else, of course."

Takamaki hits Kurusu over the head. "If you call me Ann-chan one more time, _Kurusu -_"

He grins at Takamaki and gestures for Hanako to follow. It's not as if she has anything else to do, so she does. Okumura joins them, but it seems everyone else has something to do. Takamaki gives her a jacket to replace her Gekkoukan one since apparently, Iwatodai is nowhere near Tokyo. Takamaki and Kurusu chat amicably the whole way, but Okumura hangs back with her, remaining silent for a while before finally speaking up.

"Would you like a last name, Hanako-chan?"

Hanako ponders this. "No, it's alright. Hanako is good." She wouldn't want to try her luck at finding a similar enough last name to her previous one. Just Hanako will do until she remembers.

Silence again, punctuated by Takamaki laughing over something. Then, "Uhm, if you'd like to use my phone to check your contacts, you can. Since yours doesn't work." Okumura holds out her phone, and once again Hanako notes that it seems much newer than hers. It's not a flip phone, for one. For two, it's much sleeker than any of the smartphones she can vaguely recall seeing. She clicks the phone app and goes through her contacts one by one.

Akihiko-senpai.

_We're sorry, this phone number has been disconnected._

Bebe.

_We're sorry, this phone number has been disconnected._

Fuuka-chan.

_We're sorry, this phone number has been disconnected._

On and on, leaving her to wonder why she has a phone that doesn't work, full of contacts that have since changed their number. She hands Okumura the phone, shakes her head at the girl's questioning gaze, and checks her texts. Either she was the type of person that regularly deletes texts, or she wasn't very popular, because there aren't any.

There's only one photo. It's of a dog.

_"Koro-chan, give me your paw!"_

Koromaru.

She thinks about the things she has remembered or found familiar so far. Shadows, Personas, Evoker. Gekkoukan, Iwatodai, Tatsumi Port Island. Koromaru. The way she can look at Kurusu's friends and tell what arcana they are. The blue door. Blue. Orange.

Staring at Morgana the not-cat, there is a new third comfortable color. His collar is yell, just as his bandana was in the red-and-black world. Yellow scarf, blue eyes.

_"It's like. . . I don't know. . . nostalgia? Have we met before?"_

Unlike before, the memory does not bring any new information, really. Yellow scarf, blue eyes, the unsettling familiarity of a being that should not be.

_"Have we met before?"_

Have we?

She zones out while eating the crepes that Okumura pays for. Kurusu and Takamaki spread out school books and papers, and make a half-hearted attempt at studying while Okumura studies a single neatly laid out notebook. "Exams are tomorrow," Morgana informs her.

It doesn't take long for Kurusu and Takamaki to get distracted. She tunes them out and stares down at her crepes - which she has been eating pretty slowly - while they have a very long conversation about coffee - or something - with interjections from both Okumura and Morgana.

"Is that alright, Hanako-chan?" breaks through her mental fog, and she looks up to see the others staring at her questioningly. Upon realizing she wasn't at all listening, Okumura repeats the question. "I'd like you to stay at my house for the time being. I have the most room, after all."

Hanako nods. It seems fine, anyway.

"Oh, but she'll need clothes, too, right? We should go shopping!" says Takamaki with the excitement of someone who has found a way out of studying. "It could be a fun girl's trip!" She glances at Kurusu, who is barely concealing his laugh. "And Akira, too."

"Hey!" says Morgana."

". . . and Morgana," Takamaki amends.

Once again, it's not as if she has anything else to be doing, so she lets herself be dragged to the nearby mall.

She picks out mostly orange and beige. (Orange is her favorite color, she reminds Takamaki. It is one of the few things she knows about herself.) Takamaki makes her try most of it on, and she finds it is the first time all day she has seen her own reflection.

She looks. . . older than she expected. Not like a high-schooler, more like a baby-faced adult. Orangey-brown hair, red eyes. hair pins arranged to say XXII - though it looks as if they were meant to be there with her hair up, and it's down now, so it's a bit messy. She carefully extracts the hair pins and sets them to the side, to clip to the waistband of her skirt when she's done trying on outfits. The lack of hair pins makes her hair stick out oddly, so she runs her hands through it until it flattens neatly.

She's missing something.

It is missing from every outfit she tries on, yet she can't figure out what it is. She settles for some skirt and sweater combos that Takamaki seems to particularly like. Kurusu drags them to a little knick-knacks store so he can buy a couple things, and then they stop by an electronics shop and buy a phone and temporary SIM card - "So we can update you," Takamaki says - and after some chat ID exchanging, and the return of Takamaki's coat, they part ways.

Okumura lives in a mansion, as it turns out.

Hanako is introduced as one of Okumura's friends. The servants bow politely as they pass, and she's reminded of - well, she can't put her finger on it. Amnesia is the most annoying thing in the world, she decides.

Okumura's bedroom is large and pink. Hanako has nothing against pink - it is second only to orange, after all - but it is a very large room and so a very large amount of pink. It's also covered head to toe in plants. Mostly foods, from what she can tell. They stop in there only for a moment, and then they go to an equally massive guest room. This one is bathed in orange, which is far more agreeable.

"I hope it's alright," says Okumura softly. "You said one of the only things you could remember is that you like orange."

"Of course it's alright," Hanako replies. And it is. Because why would a mansion not be alright? It's a mansion. And the room is orange, which is very much a good color to sleep amongst.

Okumura - Haru, she is eventually corrected - makes her departure after making sure everything is comfortable for Hanako. The stilted, kind-hearted politeness is incredibly familiar, and that familiarity is going to drive her insane.

She doesn't bother unpacking most of the shopping bags, instead just pulling out pajamas and her new phone. With the pajamas on, she feels more herself, even if she's not quite sure who that self is yet. She flops down onto the enormous bed and starts going through the phone.

* * *

_Sunday_

_10/16_

_10:38 pm_

_**Takamaki Ann**: hi hanako-chan!_

_**Hanako**: Hello, Takamaki-san! Thank you for helping today!_

_**Takamaki Ann** changed her name to **Ann-chan**._

_**Ann-chan** changed **Hanako** to **Hana-chan**._

_**Ann-chan**: haha call me ann! or ann-chan like akira does_

_**Hana-chan**: Okay! Thank you!_

* * *

_Sunday_

_10/16_

_10:40 pm_

_**Sakura Futaba**: can i have a list of your contacts? i might be able to find something based on their names and gekkoukan_

_**Hanako**: Oh, sure! Some of them are more nicknames than anything, though._

_**Sakura Futaba** changed her name to **alibaba**._

_**alibaba**: that's fine, i'm a good hacker._

_**Hanako**: Okay!_

_**Hanako**: Akihiko-senpai, Bebe, Fuuka-chan, Ken-kun, Kirijo-senpai, Min, Rio, Saori, Shinji, Stupei, and Yuka-tan._

_**Hanako**: That's all I have._

_**alibaba**: okay thankssss_

* * *

There are other messages, but every exchange goes approximately the same way as it did with Ann. Speaking of the mask-wearers. . . she opens up a search tab and types in "The Phantom Thieves," clicking on the first article she finds.

* * *

_Thieves or Murderers?_

_The Phantom Thieves have dropped dramatically in popularity since the death of Okumura Kunikazu on live television only a few days ago. Although there is no evidence besides the customary calling card, Akechi Goro - alternately known as the second coming of the Detective Prince - maintains that the Phantom Thieves are behind the mental shutdown cases, and the death of Okumura as well._

_Read more:_

* * *

Okumura Kunikazu? A relation of Haru's, then. There's no way the Phantom Thieves actually killed someone related to one of their own - or at all, so that tells her almost nothing. She finds an article from much earlier and clicks on that one instead.

* * *

_The Phantom Thieves: Fact or Fiction?_

_Following the confession of well-known artist Madarame Ichiryusai, the public is forced to consider: just who are the Phantom Thieves? Originally coming to media attention for the calling card and subsequent confession of Kamoshida Suguru, they were played off as a prank or a targeted blackmail attempt. In the light of this new confession, however, it seems as if the Phantom Thieves of Hearts do just what they say: steal the desires of corrupted hearts. Or perhaps it is a fellow blackmailer hoping to propel the fame of the mysterious Phantom Thieves?_

_Read more:_

* * *

Steal their desires? Well, Kurusu - _Akira_, she corrects herself - did tell her that's what they steal. She supposes she just didn't really believe him much. After all, who's ever heard of stealing the metaphysical. Though, if they're this popular, that's most likely why they were confused when she didn't automatically recognize them when they introduced themselves.

She starts to feel the effects of fatigue so she puts the phone down where it can charge, and gets in bed facing the large window overlooking her.

It's a full moon.

She blinks and for a moment the moon is impossibly big, green-tinged and bathing the room in a similarly green light. She automatically curls up and closes her eyes, and by the time she opens them again the world is back to normal.

. . . She's probably just tired.

She gets comfy and falls asleep nearly as soon as she closes her eyes.

_This time, she dreams of an enormous green moon floating above a car wreck on a bridge, a little blue-haired boy shouting her name - a name she cannot make out - and an odd-looking woman standing in front of her. She dreams of full moons, and a different little boy in a prisoner's outfit, speaking of moons and danger and friendship. She dreams of coffins, coffins, coffins -_

_She dreams of home, which is a dormitory somewhere with faces she can't quite make out laughing and joking as they food cooked by - one of them. It is walking Koro-chan with - someone - and playing with the local kids at the shrine. It is a peacoat and beanie and a face she cannot remember._

By the time she's fully awake, she can't remember what she dreamed about.


	2. ii

She can feel tightness on her face where her tears fell as she slept, but she still can't solve the mystery of what made her so sad. It's a good sad, though. The nostalgic kind. The bed she's in is warm, and comfy, and she's half tempted to go back to sleep - maybe the dream will continue and this time she'll remember it - but then the memories of yesterday come back.

Right.  
Well, that's probably why she can't remember her dream.

Her - temporary - name is Hanako, she has no memories before yesterday, and her favorite color is orange. She woke up in an unfamiliar bed because she's staying with a stranger until her memories come back. Her eyes are red, her hair is orange, and there is something missing.

It's going to drive her insane, this something, because without it everything feels empty and she doesn't quite feel alive. Perhaps she isn't. She needs - ugh, she can't remember.

Maybe she should keep a memory journal?

She goes to text Haru to ask - since Haru has been by far the most approachable - but then remembers that it's Monday, and the Phantom Thieves have exams today. A quick glance at her phone confirms it. Monday, October 17th, 9:34 am. Haru is already at school then, which leaves Hanako alone with nothing to do. Everything in her is burning to be doing something - anything - to leave the room, as it's too big and too empty and there is something missing.

Never one to waste the day in bed - maybe - and also in a rush to leave, she starts getting up and ready. Beige sweater, orange skirt, leggings, boots. After some deliberation, she pulls back only the side of her hair and places her hair pins in the XXII formation, leaving the rest of her hair down. Idly she notes that XXII is the number of the Fool arcana in some decks. Is that why she did it?

She considers for a moment before nestling the Evoker safely in the waistband of her skirt, hiding it with the bagginess of her sweater.

She finds a note on the nightstand, along with a good amount of yen.

_Hanako,_

_We have school, but you're not trapped here! I've left some yen so you can go out and get some essentials we might've missed yesterday. I won't have my phone because of exams, but message me if you leave anyways, please!_

_ \- Haru_

Hanako pockets the yen, shoots a quick text to Haru to let her know she's going out, and leaves for the day - turning down the offer of an escort from Haru's staff. She'll figure it out herself. She has a feeling she's used to figuring out new places like this.

She winds up in Shibuya, as that is the one place she knows how to get to - by reverse-engineering the directions they took last night to get to Haru's house. It does take some amount of guessing, as she wasn't quite fully paying attention, but she makes it there eventually, and that's all that matters.

She enters the CD shop just as quickly as she sees it. The CDs are mostly unfamiliar, as is the music playing - which dashing her hopes of hearing something that triggers her memories. Not that that's really a thing that happens, she supposes, but one can only hope. She doesn't manage to find any music she's interested in or any that seem familiar in the slightest, so she's on to the next shops.

There's a stationery shop just down the way - remembering her memory journal thought, she heads there. On the way she pauses next to an alleyway and glances down it out of habit and - there's the blue door again. The little girl is back outside it, but this time does not enter the (presumed) room when they make eye contact, instead staring after Hanako with a puzzled expression.

_Danger. Danger. Danger._

Right, she is so not going down there.

Not that she intended to, really, but now she will double absolutely not be doing that. Instead, she resolutely marches on to the stationery shop. She buys a cute notebook with a moon notif on it with a matching pen, then looks around for a place to sit and record her memories. There's a diner, so she heads in and orders the first thing she sees on the menu.

(After all, it's not like she has any recollection of the foods she likes.)

The relaxing atmosphere makes her believe she could get some things done, so she pulls out her phone and looks up Gekkoukan.

* * *

_Gekkoukan is an elite high school located on the man-made Tatsumi Port Island, founded by the Kirijo Group in 2000. To this day, it remains one of the most technologically advanced and sought after schools in Japan, with many graduates going on to get accepted into any college of their choice._

_Read more:_

* * *

So she was either rich, smart, or lucky.

Well, she probably doesn't come from a rich family -

_Family._

Does she have a family?

What if she's missing with no memory and there's a family out there worrying about her? Does she have parents? Siblings? Grandparents? Does she even want to have a family? If she does have one, then she's just missing with no way to contact them. If she doesn't. . . then there's no family waiting for her.

What if she regains her memories and she doesn't have anyone? Her contacts are all out of date, after all. What if that's because she doesn't have anyone, anymore? And she woke up alone. . .

Shaking her head and turning back to her phone - for fear of bursting into tears in public - she goes back to researching Gekkoukan. The next article down isn't very recent, but she clicks on it anyways.

* * *

_Kirijo Group Announces New Scholarship_

_The Kirijo Group has announced the Arisato Fun, a scholarship program meant for orphans. Winners of the scholarship will receive a full ride to Gekkoukan, including dorm residence. When asked, Kirijo Mitsuru simply stated that she felt education is important to success, no matter the background. She declined to comment on the name of the fund._

_Read more:_

* * *

Kirijo Mitsuru. . .

What did Makoto say?

_"There's only one living Kirijo - Kirijo Mitsuru. That may be our lead."_

Hanako opens her newly-purchased notebook and writes down the names of all her contacts, adding "Kirijo Mitsuru" next to "Kirijo-senpai". If she can just figure out who the others are, she might be able to figure out who _she_ is. She stares at the page a little longer before also adding "Empress" next to Kirijo. This is either gut instinct or an educated guess, but she's sure it's true, and it might help in the long run.

Satisfied with all the information on that page, she turns to another. On this one she writes "blue door - silver hair, yellow eyes, blue clothes. in trouble?" Because if past her knew the blue door, and thought of it as safe, why does she now feel it's dangerous? Why does the little girl put her on edge? Why does she - apparently - put the little girl on edge?

Pause. She writes "Akira" on the blue door page, because he can see it, and she witnessed the others stare straight through it as if it weren't there. Then she flips back to the contacts page and writes "Koromaru" - not because she feels Koromaru will be particularly important to solving the mystery, but because he's the only real thing she remembers from her past and he's real cute. (Plus it seems really rude not to put him in.)

So she has two clues (ish) and no further leads. Cool. This is usually when new clues come into play during mystery novels, she's pretty sure, and yet here she is staring at a blank notebook page.

Though. . .

She looks back at the article on her phone.

The Arisato Fund. . .

_"Kirijo declined to comment on the name of the fund."_

Arisato. . .

It is familiar in the way that Hanako is a close enough name, which has to mean something. She writes the name on her blank page and next to it adds "my name?" because that's the only reason it would be so familiar. But - if it's her name, why would there be a scholarship named after her? A scholarship for orphans, especially?

Her last name is Arisato, she's an orphan, and she's really close to the head of one of the most influential families in Japan?

Yeah, probably not.

She probably won't be finding any further information for now, so she closes her notebook with a sigh and checks her phone, which buzzed at some point during her research.

* * *

_Monday_

_10/17_

_2:13 pm_

_**Sakura Futaba** created **operation help hanako-chan**._

_**Sakura Futaba** added **Hanako** and **6 others** to **operation help hanako-chan**._

_**Sakura Futaba** changed her name to **Oracle**._

**_Click to see other updates:_**

_**Oracle**: alright listen up dweebs_

_**Oracle**: i know you have exams so you better have ur phones off lol_

_**Oracle**: i tried cross-referencing hanako's contacts with gekkoukan students but i can't even get into the records_

_**Oracle**: they have a hacker on their side or something. this security is higher than the GOVERNMENT_

_**Savior**: Does that mean you won't be able to find anything that way?_

_**Savior**: . . . Savior?_

_**Oracle**: im using the phantom thieves codenames so i had to give you one_

_**Oracle**: i CAN find something it'll just take me SO MUCH LONGER so it's going to be a while_

_**Savior**: But why Savior?_

_**Oracle**: because you don't have a metaverse outfit so i based it on your persona_

_**Savior**: And that gets Savior how?_

_**Oracle**: im the navigator so i know ur stats lol. i didn't do a full scan but i know ur persona's name is messiah and THEREFORE ur savior_

_**Savior**: Seems a little pretentious, though._

_**Oracle**: then we'll fine a new one later i just didn't want your "real" name_

_**Oracle**: now in the interest of not being murdered by mako-chan later i'm gonna stop talking_

* * *

_Monday_

_10/17_

_3:01 pm_

_**Akira**: Hey, if you want to meet us at shujin, we're going to have a meeting about your situation_

_**Akira**: We just got out. we'll wait for you._

_**Hanako**: Okay! I'll be there soon!_

* * *

She pays for her meal and gets ready to leave, making sure to tuck her pen in a safe place - her boot - and putting her notebook under her arm.

It takes her more time than she'd like to get to Shujin, even with the navigation app. The subways in Tokyo are _confusing_. Not to mention the closed-off areas that lead exactly to where she needs to be, making it necessary for her to find a way around.

She ends up in front of the school just after 3:20. Shujin students are still walking about and making their way home, and they all completely ignore her as she tentatively makes her way into the front courtyard. It's Ann who spots her first, waving excitedly from her spot next to Akira. They're both standing off to the side, clearly waiting for the rest of the Phantom Thieves - at least those who go to Shujin - and her.

As she nears, Ann grabs her arm and faces her towards Akira. "Tell Akira that dogs are superior to cats."

"I cannot believe you! In full earshot of Morgana, poor kitty," Akira says in mock outrage, gently patting the bag on his shoulder. There's a disgruntled sound and some grumbling she doesn't quite catch, so Hanako can only assume Morgana is inside the bag.

She's proven correct when a muffled voice that sounds very much like Morgana - though she honestly can't rule out it being a very small child - comes out of the bag. "Don't call me a kitty! I don't care if Lady Ann prefers dogs!" The upset tone to his voice says otherwise, but no one mentions it.

"I'm a dog person, myself. Sorry Morgana," Hanako says, hiding a laugh and putting on a fake apologetic tone.

"I don't care!"

Akira catches sight of someone coming down the front steps and calls over. "Ryuji! I'm being betrayed over here! Please tell me you're a cat person."

"I told ya, you're never getting that out of me," Ryuji says as he draws closer. "I ain't betraying no one."

"He means he's a dog person," Ann stage whispers to Hanako. This starts a whole new round of bickering, so Hanako tunes them out and looks around as they wait for the others.

Shujin is. . . average. Pretty, but she imagines it looks just like every other school in Tokyo. The uniform is just as average - red and black plaid bottoms, turtleneck, blazer.

(Seriously, what is up with the red?)

Some of the students glance nervously at their group as they pass, but ultimately they are left alone.

An unassuming brown-haired student walks out talking on his phone. He looks towards the Phantom Thieves, eyes searching. After a moment he makes eye contact with Hanako and drops his phone. His expression. . .

Terrified and surprised, like. . .

Like he _knows_ her.

If this is someone from her past -

. . . He _does_ look familiar.

She goes to take a step forward - to talk to him, to ask him questions, to do something - but he's already collecting his phone and hurrying off, giving their little group a wide berth.

She turns back to the Phantom Thieves, who have now been joined by Haru and Makoto. They're all looking at her, which means they probably all saw that - whatever it was. "Does anyone know who that was?"

Makoto stares off at where the student disappeared with a calculating look in her eyes. "I can't quite remember his first name, but that's Amada-san. He's a 3rd year."

_Amada-san_.

Hanako stares at the gates, where Amada is long gone.

_Who is he?_


	3. iii

Hanako isn't really quite sure how she ended up working at Leblanc.

She's aware of the details, of course. At the meeting they had to discuss her - situation - Ann introduced her to Boss, who already knew the circumstances and offered her a job because she doesn't have an ID or really anything proving she exists - but it was sort of whirlwind and she's still trying to get her head wrapped around it. Do people really just give out jobs like that? She's almost one hundred percent sure they don't, especially to people who don't currently legally exist, even as a favor to someone they know. That's just not a thing that happens.

It's not that she's complaining, really. Having a job is a good thing and she caught on relatively quickly to working in the cafe, but it's just weird. Boss - Sakura Sojiro, Futaba's dad and Akira's caretaker - doesn't know her. Technically none of them know her, really, because she doesn't even know herself. There's no valid reason to offer her a job - better yet, there's no valid reason to help her at all, but here she is.

Working at the cafe is relatively simple. She picks up the coffee types and ways to brew them pretty quickly, and she's basically the poster girl for customer service. It feels sort of like she used to do something similar, because the scent of coffee is nostalgic - even though she tried some and she absolutely did not like it. She's more of a tea girl, honestly. Or hot chocolate. Or - literally anything that isn't coffee.

Plus, she likes the regulars. They're all very interesting - they have their own lives and tastes and they always come exactly on schedule. She has a feeling she's always been invested in other people's lives, and this little cafe job is perfect for that sort of thing.

It's not all boring, either. The Phantom Thieves use Leblanc as a meeting place, after all. She's declined to join their rank for now, but she likes watching them interact. They only have one official Phantom Thief meeting she's invited to after the one about her, but after exams are over, at least one Phantom Thief is hanging out with Akira. It makes her nostalgic for something she doesn't remember, but she's sure whatever it is was nice.

The Phantom Thieves stay busy all through the rest of October, but they individually make sure to spend some time with Hanako, which is nice. Towards the end of the month, they gain a new member - Akechi Goro, the Detective Prince, which seems a bit ironic. He continues openly disagreeing with the Phantom Thieves in public, even as he works with them.

It isn't until November that the Phantom Thieves have any free time. On Friday the 4th, they head to Mementos - which is explained to her as the place she woke up, as well as a collection of humanity's distorted desires. Hanako only agrees to go because she's curious about her powers just as much as they are, and Futaba wants to do a full scan of her and her Persona.

They meet up outside of the subway entrance in Shibuya. Akechi isn't there. She asks where he is - considering he's a new Phantom Thief and this seems relevant - but all she gets are shifty looks and dodgy excuses. She'd probably buy that he's busy, from what she's seen on TV, but she's also an excellent lie detector, so she doesn't. She doesn't call them out, though. She'll figure out what's up on her own time.

Passing the blue door isn't as awful as she was building it up to be in her head - she doesn't get dragged in kicking and screaming by powers unknown, nor does the little girl she's been seeing attack her on sight. In fact, the little girl isn't even outside the door this time. Nothing bad immediately happening doesn't stop the sinister aura of the door from messing with her, though, and she wastes no time in going downstairs to wait for Akira to be ready. Only - she doesn't stop.

She knows she is meant to wait for the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Futaba wanted to scan her, after all, and they were going to show her some of the Shadows because she mentioned they don't look like the ones she's used to. Plus, Akira specifically asked her to stay with them - not really for her own safety, considering, but for their peace of mind.

And yet, she keeps walking.

The Shadows won't attack her, she knows this.

There is - something - pulling her deeper, deeper, deeper, so she keeps walking. She walks, and walks, and walks. At some point she thinks she reaches the part she found the Phantom Thieves in the first time, or at least the floor it was, but the layouts are ever-changing and she's not quite sure. Like an upside down. . . an upside down. . .

_"Tartarus. . .? What's that?. . . Sounds like a toothpaste."_

_"You can think of it as a Shadow nest."_

Like an upside down Tartarus.

Man, if all she's going to remember is stuff to do with this Shadow business, what was her life even like before?

Doesn't matter if she doesn't remember it, she supposes.

Many, many, many floors down, she reaches a wall. It appears to be made of stone, and there are glowing red geometric patterns throughout it. There has to be more beyond it. There has to be. She has to go deeper.

She_ has_ to.

There is something down in the deepest depths of Mementos, and she must reach it. There is no other option but to reach it - it feels as if she will only be able to breathe the depths.

It is something warm and comforting, calling and beckoning for her to save it.

She must save it.

_She must -_

A hand on Hanako's shoulder pulls her out of her trance.

It's Akira. He looks pretty concerned, and she's almost sure she's going to hear a long rant about running off and making them worry - (did she once have a habit of running off in order to expect such a rant?) - but instead his expression just shifts into an unreadable one. "The Shadows don't attack you."

That is absolutely the farthest thing from what she thought he'd say. "Huh?"

"The Shadows. They don't attack you. You walked right past all of them."

"Oh. They won't attack if they can sense you're too powerful for them." This is something she had gathered last time, after saving the Phantom Thieves. She's too high-powered for the Shadows to believe she is worth attacking. It is, in fact, one of the reasons she doesn't want to join the Phantom Thieves. If she fights her battles for them, what happens when she regains her memories and presumably leaves?

Akira gives her a look. "I know that. I mean none of the Shadows this far down have attacked you, either."

Well, she knows that too. She thought it was obvious that she's just over-powered for how far they are in Mementos right now. Something tells her she's been through something like this before - "something" being her recollection of Shadows and Personas and Tartarus - and it's clear she's reached the end of her journey, while they haven't yet. After all, if they must reach the depths of Mementos, they still have a little ways to go. She can feel it in her bones.

Futaba, who was hanging back near the stairs with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, makes her way over. "I did a scan of you while we were following. You're way over-powered. And. . . you have two Personas. Did you know that?"

On the list of things Hanako felt were important the last time she was here, knowing how many Personas she has was not among them, so yes but no. Now that she thinks about it, she can feel them, and she's aware they've been with her this entire time, but until being notified she wasn't paying attention enough to sense both of them.

(She knew Messiah was there, of course. Just not the other one.)

"Last time I sensed just the one, because that's the one you used. I wasn't really paying attention to your Personas. But there are definitely at least two," Futaba continues. "Which means you have the same power as Joker."

Hanako reaches into the depths of her mind to feel her Personas. "Messiah and Orpheus-Telos," she states for Futaba. "They do feel. . . powerful, I suppose."

Really what she feels is that some are missing. Ones she had Before - "Before" being before she died, not before she woke up, because at this point she's almost one hundred percent sure she died. Really, she has to have, because that's the only logical explanation for the sheer stricken terror on Amada's face when he saw her.

(Futaba hadn't managed to find any information about Amada other than his name - Amada Ken. His school record is just as blocked off as Gekkoukan's had been.)

The only way she can think to explain the missing feeling is that she has a certain number of slots and most are empty. Which just sounds absurd, so she doesn't bother mentioning it. Really only Akira might understand, but it's not particularly urgent that she's missing Personas. It wouldn't accomplish anything for them to know. Instead, she looks back at the wall. "I need to go down there."

Akira gives her another appraising look and beckons the rest of the Phantom Thieves over. "Mona, what's down in the depths of Mementos?"

"I've never thought about it," Morgana states thoughtfully. "Something to help me regain my memories."

"So Savior's need to be down there might be for a similar reason?" Akira asks, shooting a glance at Hanako's hand, which is still pressed up against the geometric wall. Oh. She lowers her hand and turns to fully face the Phantom Thieves.

(Are they really going to keep calling her Savior?)

Morgana pauses to think about it, then nods. "To regain her memories? Maybe."

Cool. Now she triple has to get down there.

Does she need the Phantom Thieves in order to go to Mementos? Is that a thing? So far, both times she's been, they've either taken her in or taken her out. That doesn't particularly set a precedent for her being able to do it herself. "Would I need to be a Phantom Thief to go lower?"

Morgana's still staring at the geometric wall as he replies. "I think if we've unlocked it, you can go down. But we might have to be in Mementos with you. . ."

"Joker does solo missions sometimes," Makoto pipes up. "He can go down as far as we can go as a group, so you could probably just bring one of us with you and it'll count. That is, assuming you need us in the first place."

Oh, good. "Do I need you in order to actually enter Mementos?"

Futaba takes Hanako's replacement phone and looks it over, which seems pointless as her flip phone didn't work in the Metaverse, so why would the new one? She's proven wrong seconds later when Futaba powers it on and opens the app menu to expect it. "Not with this new phone. We enter through an app - this one, the Metaverse app - we just need to teach you how to use it first."

Akira takes the lead of the conversation again. "Well, we can head back up now. We got the requests done, so there's no point in staying now that we've scanned Savior and got some training in."

They really are going to keep calling her Savior. Unbelievable. It's so pretentious.

(Admittedly, she has no idea what she'd call herself if given the chance, so maybe Savior really isn't that bad.)

There are chimes of agreement from the rest of the Phantom Thieves and they all start heading upstairs, at which point Hanako finds out something interesting.

Morgana can turn into a bus.

She's not even that surprised, really, it's just -

"We don't usually walk in Mementos if it's not necessary. I'm surprised your feet aren't killing you," Ann says. "It might be a tight squeeze but since Crow isn't here. . ." she trails off at that, but herds Hanako into the car nonetheless.

She ends up only a little bit squished. She sits next to Makoto - who's driving - in the front seat, along with Ann and Haru, with Ryuji, Akira, Yusuke, and Futaba in the back. (Or, as Ann put it, "Girls up front, nerds in the back. Yes, Skull counts as a nerd. Yes, I'm including Oracle as a nerd instead of a girl. No offense Oracle.") The drive is presumably much quicker than her walk down, but she doesn't remember much from then other than her need to go deeper.

Eventually they are standing back in Shibuya in their normal clothes once more - not that Hanako's clothes ever changed - and parting ways. Haru helps her speculate on her previous life on the way home, all in good fun, and they come up with some interesting stories based on the memories she has.

_("What if you were in the PSIA as an experiment with Persona-users and you learned something you weren't supposed to so they erased your memories and dumped you in Mementos?"_

_("What if I was kidnapped as a baby and lived in Mementos for my whole life, and head trauma caused me to forget everything?")_

That night, she lies awake and seriously ponders what her life was like before. She knows she'll dream of it - of everything and nothing at the same time - and will never quite piece it together in the morning. Maybe she should start keeping a dream journal instead of a memory journal.

. . . Well she supposes that the memory journal can also work as a dream journal, as she only seems to be dreaming of her past, so she makes a mental note to write everything she remembers from her dreams down in the morning.

She does dream, as expected.

She dreams of the color blue.

_Blue eyes, unnaturally so, yellow scarf, yellow scarf, yellow scarf -_

_"Have we met before?"_

_Blue hair, soft voice, gentle laughter -_

_"I'm not afraid of death."_

_Blue room, rising, rising, rising -_

_"Welcome to the - -."_

_Blue clothes, yellow eyes, silver hair -_

_"It's a pleasure to meet you."_

She wakes up gasping.

Her alarm is buzzing.

Saturday, November 5th, 6:02 am.

She silences the alarm and then jots down what she remembers from her dream, which just amounts to "blue". Very soon after that she's out the door and on her way to Cafe Leblanc for another day at work. She likes working at Leblanc. It's mind-numbingly simple, and it gives her time to think about other things. For instance -

Well, everything. Who is she? Who was she? Why did she wake up in Mementos of all places? Why does she feel so drawn to the depths of Mementos? What brought her back to life? How? The list goes on and on, so she never runs out of things to think about while completing her tasks on auto-pilot.

She looks automatically to greet the next customer when the bell chimes, only to pause. It's a police officer. One she's never seen before. "Welcome to Leblanc! I'll be right with you," she says in a false cheery voice as she grabs a mug and waits for his order. The policeman - around her age (if she knew what age she is), a rugged sort of handsome, silver hair with kind eyes - nods and takes a seat, never taking his eyes off her.

"You worked her long?" he asks instead of ordering.

"About a month. What would you like?"

He looks at Leblanc's frankly impressive selection of coffees before answering. "Just a plain black coffee. What's your name?"

To be fair, she isn't wearing a nametag. It didn't seem necessary to Boss, as his regulars don't really call anyone by name anyway. She picks a coffee bean she thinks he might like and sets to work. "Hanako. Just. . . Hanako."

He grunts in acknowledgement, but does not continue talking. It is in awkward silence that she places his coffee in front of him, and awkward silence that he sips it. He occasionally steals glances at her when he thinks she isn't looking, but it's not like she has much else to look at. The more she looks at him, the more - well, he feels exactly like Amada. Familiar, and terrifyingly so. Only this time she's close enough to tell -

_Star. Rank 10. MAX._

She _knows_ him.

She has to know him - she doesn't know what ranks are, but if she's maxed it, she has to know him, right? And that means he knows her. Did he come here exclusively for her? Are there people looking for her?

Does she _want_ there to be?

He finishes his coffee, pays, and gets up to leave. He seems to be looking outside at a woman, who is most likely waiting for him. If she knows him, what are the chances she knows the woman, too? She tries to get a good look without being too obvious.

Red hair, sunglasses, expensive-looking clothing. Not necessarily an outfit she thinks any average society person would be caught dead in, however, considering the leather coat and motorcycle helmet the woman holds loosely. "Thank you for the coffee, Hanako-san," the policeman says, and begins to walk out.

He's just opening the door when she yelps and rushes forward. "Wait -" he pauses in the doorway and looks at her with something akin to hope in his eyes. "Do I. . . know you?" It seems almost a foolish question to ask after she says it, but by then it is too late.

The policeman's expression shifts back into a neutral, guarded one. He looks at the woman waiting for him, then back at Hanako.. "You don't. Not right now. But you will." He turns and nearly makes it all the way out before glancing back at her. "Sanada Akihiko. I'll see you soon."

. . . What does _that_ mean?


	4. iv

The day before the Phantom Thieves are to infiltrate the Palace they're working on, Akira pulls Hanako aside.

"We're infiltrating the Palace tomorrow," he says. "There are some things you need to know first."

She's not quite sure she understands Palaces all that much without seeing one, but she declined to go see the one they're working on. That's their territory - the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who steal the distorted desires of corrupted adults. It's not Hanako's territory, who doesn't remember anything and is more comfortable in a less personalized setting like Mementos.

She glances at Boss, who nods his approval, so she takes her apron off and follows Akira up to his attic bedroom. It's dusty in the way that attics tend to be, but otherwise clean - if a bit cluttered with knick knacks. She likes the cluttered look - it is as if he has taken what he's been given and made it into a home. The ability to adapt is admirable. She feels like maybe she was like that once, too.

He sits on his bed and sort of gestures next to him, so she takes the spot he left next to him. He looks. . . nervous. Nervous people do not generally tend to have good news, so she's not sure she's looking forward to what he has to say.

"Akechi is going to betray us," he starts.

Which - okay, she'd been meaning to get to the bottom of why they're all so shady about Akechi, but it's only been a couple weeks since she noticed it, so she hasn't done much investigating quite yet. To get told outright is a pleasant surprise, and she can't say she didn't sense some amount of distrust, but betrayal is. . .

He seemed perfectly pleasant whenever she interacted with him. Pleasant demeanor, soft voice, dressed in a light brown suit, longer mousy-brown hair, betrayal of someone that trusted them - why does that seem so familiar?

"Is he in a cult?" she blurts without thinking.

Oh my god, what was her life even like? _'Is he in a cult?'_ What kind of question is that? Did she know somebody who betrayed her because of a cult? What sort of life do you have to live - to trust and then be betrayed by a cultist?

Akira looks rightfully taken aback by her question. "Uh, not that I know of? That's not what I was going to say."

"Yeah, I'm not sure why I said it either. Please continue."

"Okay," he takes a deep breath. "We're not sure who he's working for, but he intends to turn the Phantom Thieves in."

Can you turn in people who work in a world that doesn't technically exist to the general public? Really, there's no proof that the Metaverse exists outside of the Metaverse app, which is innocuous in and of itself. She voices her question.

"The Metaverse app can take in anyone nearby. He can lead them in - tomorrow, when he wants us to steal the Treasure. And, being the leader, I'll be the one taken in -" he breaks off for a moment, seemingly unsure how to continue. "I'll be the one taken in, and that point he'll be free to - to stage my suicide."

Holy shit.

(Hanako feels she has earned a swear over this, though generally she tries to avoid it.)

"Tell me you have a plan?" she asks instead of the million other questions buzzing through her head. Like, for example, 'oh my god if you already knew this why have you been letting him hang around' and 'is he a known murderer or will this be a first time thing for him?'

"We do. That's - why I'm telling you. Part of it involves letting Akechi think he

succeeded. My death - as the leader of the Phantom Thieves - would be broadcasted all over Japan, so. . ." he trails off.

Idly she notes that he seems generally less confident when not wearing the mask. As Joker, he was excellent at giving orders and verbalizing, but as Akira - he just reads as a nervous boy with glasses. It seems to be very much a Superman effect. "But you won't actually die?"

"Well the plan is not to, yes. Uhm, but there are variables. And - I just. If I do die, you didn't know me. It won't really work for the others, but we just met you a month ago. If anyone comes by asking, you're a friend of Haru's and she introduced you to Boss and - I'm just the delinquent he's taking care of."

She frowns. "But -"

"Hanako, this is important. I don't want your life to be ruined before it's even really started, especially since you actually don't really know me."

Hanako is strongly reminded of someone else - someone -

_"Promise me that you won't sacrifice yourself."_

_"Hamuko -"_

_"Promise. If this ends the way they think it will, you will let me be the one to do it."_

_"I -"_

_"Minato."_

_". . . I promise."_

A nostalgic feeling washes over her.

Hamuko. Hamuko. _Hamuko._

Akira's saying something, probably telling her the ins and outs of the plan, but she's long stopped listening. "Hanako?" he says when she doesn't respond for a while.

"Hamuko. . ."

"Huh?"

"My name. . ."

"Your name is Hamuko?"

She nods and pulls out her memory journal. She doesn't need to write this down, now that she remembers, but it feels like she should document it anyways. "Arisato Hamuko." It sounds right - it sounds perfect. Hamuko is just close enough to Hanako that she can see why she was comfortable being called Hanako for a while. "Sometimes I hear - past conversations? That's how I knew about Personas and Shadows and my Evoker."

"And you just now heard a conversation?" He looks intrigued and thoughtful, which is odd on his typically non-expressive face.

"With someone named Minato. It was similar to the one we were having. I think that's what triggered it."

She flips to the contacts page of her memory journal and scans it. Kirijo-senpai is Kirijo Mitsuru, Empress. Akihiko-senpai is Sanada Akihiko - she knew she knew him, why he had to be so cryptic about it instead of helping her is beyond her. Star. Ken-kun is Amada Ken, who Futaba found in the Shujin school records. His arcana is hard to judge without getting near him. And, of course, Koromaru. Those make sense. She's still missing many, but that's not why she's looking.

Min. . . that has to be Minato. She writes '[blank] Minato' in the space after it. She can't grasp an arcana for him, either, but it'll most likely come to her with time.

She flips the page and stares down at the blue door page. _Blue door - silver hair, yellow eyes, blue clothes. In trouble? AKIRA._

Right, Akira.

She looks back up at him, realizing he's been sitting patiently and watching as she filled in her memory journal. And, most likely, looking over her shoulder, so she really has no reason to continue ignoring his connection to the blue door. "Can I ask you something?" He nods his assent, so she turns her journal so he can more clearly see the page. "What's up with the blue door?"

It's clearly a question he expected from her at some point - she knows he saw her staring at it back when they first found her in Mementos. It's been a silent game of who will crack first since then. "The Velvet Room. It makes sense that you'd see it, considering you have multiple Personas as well. It's where I go to keep track of them, and make more."

_"Welcome to the Velvet Room."_

"I've been in there before," she mutters more for herself than for Akira.

This catches him off guard. "You have? It always seems to put you on edge so I just figured you didn't know what it was. Like - creepy blue door that only you and I can see? Not to mention Caroline always hanging out in front of it. She is a very creepy little girl."

She can't argue that the little girl isn't creepy. "It just feels wrong. Different. It's. . . hard to describe."

And it is hard to describe. Blue is comfortable, warm, safe. The blue door - which she has been automatically calling a room since long before Akira told her the name - is completely the opposite. Even being near it gives her the creeps, like if she gets near it something will go terribly, terribly wrong. Some part of her says that she should not feel like that, that the Velvet Room was once a place of safety and friendship. A small island of peace amongst the chaos of Shadows and Personas.

A phone starts ringing. She reaches for hers, only to realize halfway through that it doesn't sound like her new ringtone. Akira checks and confirms it's not his, either. They look at each other in confusion for a moment before Hamuko remembers that she charges and carries her old phone around with her as well - just in case - and digs it out. She briefly pauses to consider that last she checked the phone didn't work before answering. "Hello?"

"Arisato-san?" The voice is calm, professional, and slightly crackling from what is presumably a bad connection. It's a man's voice. She vaguely recognizes it, but the name and face escape her.

"Yes, that's me," she says. If he knows her name then he has to know something about her, and that's pretty much the only thing keeping her from hanging up. That, and the fact that it came from her old phone. She pulls her phone away from her ear to check the caller ID - Theo. Which is not a name in her contacts, so why did the caller ID work?

"Oh, good. I was afraid you would not remember. There's no time to explain. Please listen very carefully. You must enter the Depths of Mementos and defeat -" his voice crackles out for a second - "The Velvet Room has been compromised. He doesn't know about you yet, but that may change soon. Please -" the voice cuts out. She checks the phone screen to see that the call has ended.

"The Velvet room has been compromised. . ." she echoes softly.

This brings Akira to attention. "So you were actually sensing something wrong with it? I just thought you were off-put by Caroline. And the whole jail thing."

She shakes her head and opens her new phone to message the other Phantom Thieves.

* * *

_Saturday_

_11/19_

_5:39pm_

_**Savior** changed the group name to **operation help hamuko-chan.**_

_**Savior**: I have some updates._

_**Savior**: My name is Arisato Hamuko._

_**Savior**: Side note, Futaba, could you look up to see if there's anyone named Minato that I could know? I think he's the Min from my contacts._

_**Savior**: Anyways, I know why I have to reach the depths._

_**Savior**: But I'll leave that for Akira to explain when he gets the chance, because it's a bit confusing!_

_**Queen**: Well, it's good that you remembered your name._

_**Queen**: I think the depths conversation should wait until after the Palace infiltration, if you don't mind, Arisato-san._

_**Panther**: no way, she gains a last name and you're suddenly being all professional?_

_**Queen**: She didn't give us permission to use her first name, Ann._

_**Savior**: Haha, I don't mind! Hamuko's really close to Hanako, either way._

* * *

She closes the chat and looks back up at Akira, who is lost in thought. "I hope everything goes well tomorrow. Good luck." He nods absently, and she gets up and makes her way back to Haru's place. The train ride is eventless, and soon she is plopping down in the large room she currently calls home.

She knows she will not rest peacefully tonight, not after what Akira has told her, but she lays in bed all the same.

_Tick, tock._

_Tick, tock._

_Tick, tock._

She has half a mind to take the clock down and throw it out the window, and she feels she understands The Tell-Tale Heart all the more. She has not committed murder, no, but the ticking of the clock is going to drive her insane.

When did she read The Tell-Tale Heart?

Why does she remember innocuous things but not big things like - whether or not she has parents?

_Tick, tock._

She glances over just as it turns midnight, and for a moment she panics. Over what, she doesn't know. For a moment - but only for a moment - everything seems to take on a green hue, then returns to normal. Was that a figment of her imagination or. . .? No, it must've been.

But then -

What makes her fear midnight?

(It happened last month, the night she woke up, too, didn't it?)

(. . . Perhaps it is better left ignored.)

She'll give herself a headache if she thinks about it too hard. Instead she burrows into the comfy bed and forces her eyes shut. After a while, her breathing evens and she is asleep.

For once, her dream is not a collage of half-finished memories. Instead she dreams, and remembers.

* * *

_A blue haired boy - Minato, her brain whispers - sits next to her on a train. He's wearing a Gekkoukan uniform, and is dozing off as music plays through his headphones. It's loud enough for her to hear, but muffled enough that she won't be able to tell what song he's listening to without some concentration._

_"Iwatodai," an overhead voice says. "Now arriving at Iwatodai."_

_"Min," says her own voice. "This is our stop." He doesn't acknowledge her, so she reaches over and plucks his headphones off. "C'mon, loser, it's already late."_

_He grumbles but grabs his stuff, following her off the train. He doesn't bother to pause his music or put his headphones back on, which provides a relieving amount of noise for the walk. She'd wear her own headphones, of course, but her MP3 died on the way there. She's never been the greatest at keeping it charged._

_They walk in comfortable silence with Minato's music keeping them company. Hamuko pulls out her phone to check the time. 11:59 pm. "I hope they're still awake to greet us," she mutters. Minato gives a noncommittal shrug, which is what she expected. He doesn't tend to worry about things like punctuality or politeness, instead letting her deal with that end of things. She double checks the slip of paper she has for directions and starts turning in the right direction when -_

_The world takes on a green hue. Minato's music cuts out, and she looks back at him to find him staring down at his MP3 in confusion. "I still had charge," he says without looking up. The moon behind him is larger than life, and bathed in the same green glow that surrounds them._

_Hamuko shrugs and keeps walking, passing it off as something she'll deal with tomorrow when she's not dead on her feet. After a moment she hears Minato fall in place behind her. Her feet splash in a puddle. She does not stop to consider that she's pretty sure it hasn't rained recently in Iwatodai. They pass coffins, coffins, coffins. Neither of them pause. Minato, for his part, is just too good at tuning out weird things. Hamuko just wants to go to sleep._

_After a while they arrive at the SEES dorm, a co-ed dorm that will be housing them due to their whole - parent situation. She takes a deep breath and enters, Minato following close behind._

_All the lights are on, but there's no one around. Shouldn't there be a person to greet them? Then again, it is midnight. . . "Hello?" she calls tentatively._

_"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you," says a little boy from right next to her. Was he there before? "Now if you want to proceed, please sign your names there." He gestures to a contract. It opens. "It's a contract. Don't worry, all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff."_

_Minato shrugs and signs his name immediately, but Hamuko pauses for a moment. Signing a contract for a creepy kid seems pretty suspect, after all. But, as she looks closer, it really does just say 'I chooseth this fate of mine free will.' Which, you know, is still pretty weird, but at least it's not anything that weird. Pretty vague, as contracts go. Right below 'Arisato Minato,' she writes her own name. 'Arisato Hamuko.'_

_The boy takes the contract and closes it. "No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes. . . and so it begins." The boy disappears and the lights go out. Everything is back to being bathed in the green glow._

_"Who's there?" calls a voice from the stairway. A girl wearing pink, about their age, stands in the shadows. Her hand shakily reaches for a gun that's strapped by her skirt._

_"Takeba, wait!" says another, more mature voice. A redhead appears in their field of view. She has a similar gun strapped to her leg. Just as she calls out, the green glow disappears. Minato's music starts up again._

_The lights come back on, bright and blinding, and the first girl is no longer in shadow. She looks at them shocked, then sheepish. "I didn't think you'd arrive so late," says the redhead. "My name is Kirijo Mitsuru. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."_

_"Who're they?" asks the the first girl - Takeba? - in a soft voice._

_"They're transfer students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here, due to their unique situation. They'll most likely eventually be moved to their respective gendered dorms." Kirijo explains._

_Takeba frowns at them consideringly. "Is it okay for them to be here?"_

_"I guess we'll see." Kirijo turns back to them. "This is Takeba Yukari. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you two."_

_Hamuko bows quickly. "Nice to meet you! My name is Arisato Hamuko, and this is my brother Arisato Minato. . . he doesn't speak much. You can just call us by our first names, if it makes it easier."_

_"Nice to meet you too," Takeba says nervously, clearly taken aback by Hamuko's peppy nature. Most people are._

_"You two should get some rest," Kirijo says into the awkward air. "Takeba, show her to her room. Arisato Minato, come with me."_

_Hamuko dutifully follows Takeba up to the third floor, past all of the rooms, and to the last door on the right. Takeba turns towards her nervously. "About earlier. . . you didn't see anything strange, did you?"_

_She pauses to consider it. Of course she did, but she's accustomed to strange things, so really she didn't. So . . . "No," she shakes her head. "Goodnight, Takeba-san," she says, then promptly enters her room and shuts it in Takeba's face._

_She'll apologize for being rude in the morning._

_For now, she just wants peace and quiet._


	5. v

Saturday passes without incident.

The Phantom Thieves - sans Akira - return Saturday night and bring news that the first part of the plan worked. Akira was captured by the police following a betrayal from Akechi. They scattered without the Treasure. All that's left by the end of the day is for Akechi to make his move.

It's Sunday that's stressful. Downright nerve-wracking at best. No matter what, news of Akira's death should hit by the end of the day. Until then (and after), it's a job of acting normal and going about their lives. Hamuko doesn't have work - best to keep her distance from Leblanc for now - so she heads out to the diner in Shibuya to do some research on her past.

(She might have been putting it off the day before in favor of lounging around her room and moping about her lack of memories, but you can't prove that. Either way, she feels it was a very productive use of her time.)

The diner is busier than usual, full of students on their day off, but she still manages to snag a booth that's relatively secluded so she can focus on whatever she decides to do. Anything but think about Akira's impending doom, really. She's only known him for a month, but that doesn't mean she wants him to die.

(Of course she doesn't. What kind of person would want anyone to die? Aside from Akechi. And whomever he's working for. And whoever she knew before that betrayed her and was also in a cult, apparently. Actually, there's an unreasonable amount of people she knows that want people to die.)

Right. Back to what she came here for. She opens her memory journal and stares down at the most recent entry for her dreams. It's surprisingly detailed - usually her dreams are disjointed, full of feelings and pictures that she can't recall in the morning.

This must've been her introduction to some of the people in her contacts list. Her brother, obviously, she knew before, even if she can't remember much of that. Kirijo Mitsuru, Takeba Yukari. People she knew once. Strong nostalgia crashes down on her, a tsunami of feelings and memories she can't quite describe. She had entertained the idea of family, of course, but the reality of actually having one - whether predetermined or found - is almost beautifully melancholy.

It's clear now that the people from her past know she's alive - the redhead she saw waiting for Sanada Akihiko very much resembled Kirijo Mitsuru, now that Hamuko's seen what she looks like - so why hasn't Minato reached out to her? Why haven't any of them attempted to explain who they are? Their importance?

Though, she supposes she might have trouble reaching out if the situation were reversed, especially as it's obvious they are aware of her memory problem. Still, if simple conversations are enough to trigger her memories, then why wouldn't talking to the people who actually knew her help as well? It should help more, even. The only way to know is to try.

Unfortunately, they seem dead set on remaining no contact with her. There's no hope of getting in contact with an heiress, even if they might be expecting her try, so Kirijo is out of the question. She knows where Amada goes to school, which might help, but he seems likely to bolt at first sight of her. Sanada didn't leave any contact information when he stopped by, almost definitely on purpose.

(Calling them by their last names feels somehow wrong, but the current version of her doesn't know them, so she pushes the feeling down.)

On second thought - even knowing some measure more than she did when she woke up in Mementos, contacting them might not be the best idea. She doesn't really remember them, after all. Minato is her twin brother and he doesn't talk much.

That's all she knows about him, and it's mostly from a sort of outside observation of her own life.

Is there a difference between remembering something and knowing it?

Intrinsically, she feels that there is.

It makes sense that they might be deliberately preventing her from contacting them - she doesn't know them, and they don't know her. Humans are shaped by their experiences and she doesn't have the experiences that once shaped her.

She turns the page back to her original contacts page and starts filling it out with the things she forgot last time she looked at it, since investigating her past seems to be the only thing she can do at this point. Nothing else is going to take the mind power necessary to ignore the ever ticking clock -

Or, in fact, the news station playing in the background of the diner, tuned in with constant updates on the Phantom Thief in custody.

At least she'll know when they announce his suicide.

So - leads.

Takeba Yukari is the one she hasn't explored, considering how new that development is. There's no harm in looking her up. If she doesn't find anything, then she doesn't find anything. She rallies herself and then types the name into her phone's search bar.

* * *

**_Takeba Yukari_**

_Actress _

_Known for her role as Pink Argus in Featherman Rangers, though she started her career as a model. _

_Read more: _

* * *

There's a picture confirming that it is indeed the same Takeba Yukari from her dream - memory - thing. Featherman Rangers, huh? Futaba would go nuts - of course, Futaba's too shy for them to be any sort of close, but Hamuko knows for a fact she's obsessed with cartoons like that.

Futaba and -

And?

She loses track of the thought. Something about someone she knew Before - or something like that.

Her finger hovers over the read more - intrigued more by the Featherman role than really to find out more about Takeba herself - but before she decides to hit it, her screen is obscured by a message.

* * *

_Sunday _

_11/20 _

_1:34 pm _

_**Lucia**__: Can you ask your friend to stop attempting to find information about you? _

_**Lucia**__: She's very persistent. _

_**Lucia**__: We want you to recover your memories naturally. _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: Why should I? You haven't even said your name. _

_**Lucia**__: Oh, forgive me. I'm Yamagishi Fuuka. _

_**Lucia**__: We're worried about your health if you force the memories. _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: Who's we? _

_**Lucia**__: Kirijo Mitsuru, all of your friends, some highly qualified doctors. _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: . . . Alright. I'll ask her to stop. _

_**Lucia**__: Thank you. _

* * *

Yamagishi Fuuka - that must be the Fuuka-chan from her contacts. For all of their efforts to prevent her from learning the major things about her previous life, they're not keeping her from learning their names. That's good - at least she doesn't need to stumble blindly in the dark until somehow she regains her memories.

Should she message Futaba right now?

. . . No, she shouldn't. Futaba can multitask, but it's better if her undivided attention is going towards Akira right now. No harm in waiting until Akira is home safe, since Futaba isn't likely to be looking into Hamuko's past right now anyway.

Instead, she turns back to her open journal and reads back what she has written so far, adding what she's just learned along the way.

* * *

_Akihiko-senpai - Sanada Akihiko. Star. Rank 10? Must have been close. _

_Fuuka-chan - Yamagishi Fuuka. Concerned about my memories. Hacker, maybe? Stopping Futaba. _

_Kirijo-senpai - Kirijo Mitsuru. Empress. Has not directly contacted me, but was specifically named as being concerned by Yamagishi. _

_Min - Arisato Minato. Twin brother. "Arisato Fund" "parent situation" orphans? _

_Yuka-tan - Takeba Yukari? Seems to match up. Only know from the dream, contacted me. Famous, I guess? _

_Koromaru - cute dog. _

* * *

Even with all the new information she has accrued since she woke up, she's still missing more than half of the names on the list, and she has limited knowledge of those she does know. Sanada is a police officer, Takeba is an actress, Kirijo is an heiress. . . what does her brother do? The likelihood of finding out via the internet is low, but still. . . curiosity begins to win out and she erases her search on Takeba in favor of putting in her brother's name.

Her finger hovers over the enter button.

Does she really want to know?

. . .

No. If she found out, it would just feel - impersonal. The divide that separates them would be clear as day, because she had to find out her own brother's job from the internet. It can wait. She can wait. Maybe she can ask Yamagishi, at some point, if they come in contact again.

Instead she turns to the next blank page in her journal - which isn't very organized, she'll admit - and writes the things she knows vs. the things she remembers. The distinction is clear to her, and she wants it to be clear in the journal as well, even if at this point the journal is bordering on useless. What she remembers, she remembers, and what she knows, she thinks about constantly.

* * *

_**Know**__: _

_Kirijo - heiress, in charge. Also partially remember._

_Sanada - policeman that stopped by._

_Amada - kid I saw at Shujin._

_Takeba - do not know, partially remember._

_Yamagishi - contacted me._

_Gekkoukan - wearing uniform when I woke up._

_Theo? Do not know nor remember. Velvet Room related._

_Midnight makes me uneasy._

_**Remember**__: _

_Favorite color - orange._

_Blue is familiar - Velvet Room, brother._

_Supernatural - Evoker, Personas, Shadows, Tartarus_

_Koromaru - cute, cute dog._

_Velvet Room - in danger._

_First day at Iwatodai._

_Minato - brother._

_Name - Arisato Hamuko_

* * *

Proportionally, she doesn't have much information about her life at all, remembered or otherwise. She's not a very patient person. It's been a month - or so - since she woke up in Mementos, and she barely knows her own name, so she's a little put out.

That leaves nothing for her to research. She can't investigate the Velvet Room situation without Akira - or travelling to the depths of Mementos, which she can't do without the Phantom Thieves - she can't pick up a shift at Leblanc or even go near it right now, and she can't contact anyone she knows, past or otherwise.

She did briefly consider attempting to contact the people from her past. Takeba and Kirijo, of course, as people in the public eye, would be hard to get ahold of. Sanada and Amada, on the other hand, would be relatively easy. Sanada is a police officer, which means she could just figure out where he specifically works and show up, or she could ring that office and ask for him. Amada, obviously is at Shujin on school days. If it weren't Sunday, she would be half-tempted to show up and corner him for answers.

But -

She's never going to get anywhere if she doesn't trust people who were once her friends. (This, she's sure of. She can feel it - they are not her enemies.) Yamagishi said not to try to find anything about her past, so she won't, beyond what she's already done. Somehow, she thinks actively trying to contact the people who once knew her involves trying to seek out her past.

(Plus, she's pretty sure the Amada kid would be traumatized if she cornered him. He looked downright terrified when he saw her originally.)

So she can't go to work, she can't talk to anyone, and she can't do anything productive towards finding out who she used to be.

That means she has absolutely nothing to do for the next however many hours until Akira's death is announced, real or not.

Hamuko looks around the diner. It's full of high school students on their day off, and it's only getting more crowded as day goes by. No point in taking up space if she's not even really here to do anything, now that she's finished catching up her memory journal. She heaves a sigh and pays, packing up her things neatly into a bag she bought at the start of her job at Leblanc. Walking around Shibuya couldn't hurt. She hasn't really explored Tokyo yet - she's been busy with her memories, and her newfound job.

She glances around as she leaves the diner.

Let's see, there's an arcade - probably also filled with teenagers, so that's out - a CD shop, which she's already been to, and a few other shops that don't seem very intriguing. She refuses to go down Blue Door Alley, even knowing what the blue door is, so not that either. She's already been down to the mall, even briefly, and it didn't seem all that interesting. She might have to venture out into other districts of Tokyo in order to occupy her mind.

_"I've always wanted to go to Jinbocho, but it's a bit far. . ."_

. . . Jinbocho it is, in honor of whatever girl she just heard in her head. Mostly because she sounds cute.

The train ride is uneventful. Within the hour she's in probably the most amazing place she's ever seen.

There's - there's just _so many books!_

It's enough that she almost sobs, and honestly if she did she wouldn't be ashamed of it.

She spends hours walking around the shops. Used books, new books, doesn't matter. She even buys a couple books. A guide to Greek mythology - she finds that she's particularly curious about Greek myths - some astronomy, a book on tarot, and one on Arsene Lupin, the basis of Akira's Persona. She stays until it's near dark out, then starts making her way home.

The news on Akira's capture is still playing in the subway as she enters. She stops just to see if his death has been announced yet - it doesn't seem so. It won't be long now that the sun has started setting.

A bark draws her out of her thoughts, and then she is on the floor with something licking her.

A dog?

A very _wiggly_ dog.

"Koromaru, no!" says a voice from nearby, and the dog is pulled off of her.

_Koromaru?_

She looks up.

"Oh my gosh, Koro-chan!" Hamuko finds herself cooing. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Koro-chan's wiggles double at his name. She busies herself with petting him - though she does get up off the floor. She has _dignity._

She's almost so distracted by Koro that she doesn't realize that the voice that said his name is most likely someone she knows. Knew. Whatever.

Almost.

_Moon. Rank 10. MAX._

She locks eyes with a man. She has to look up to do so - he's much taller than her. (Not that that is a very hard thing to be.) He doesn't look too surprised to see her, but there is something in his expression that she can't quite decipher. His posture is horrible, so he's actually taller than he first appeared. His brown hair is pulled into a ponytail, and he's wearing a pea coat that looks familiar.

So much for avoiding anything even semi-related to before she woke up.

The man sighs. He looks deeply, intensely tired, as if he's worked every shift he could possibly pick up at a high-stress job for the past year. Honestly, he could've. It's not like she'd know what he's been doing for the past year. "Shinjiro. I can see you're wondering."

"I wasn't going to ask," Hamuko says. "Yama - Fuuka asked me not to look into my past, so I haven't."

Shinjiro - Shinji? - snorts. "Must be killing you."

"It is," she admits. "But you guys know more than me, at this point. I trust you."

His face softens. He opens his mouth to say something else when she hears it -

"We have breaking news: the young man being held in custody has committed suicide."


	6. vi

Hamuko goes back to work almost immediately. Any longer and they wouldn't be able to play it off as a quick vacation, and now more than ever they must keep appearances. As it is she feels suspicious for having taken any time off at all - considering the convenient timing of her "vacation." She sees no one new or strange on her commute to work, sure, but that means nothing. They could suspect nothing - or at least nothing of her - of course, but it's far more likely she's just not being observant enough.

She falls into the routine with relief. Staying home one more day might've led her to insanity. Not knowing anything about yourself lends itself quickly to boredom, apparently. One day of - possible, unprovable - moping was enough, and now she's just been itching for something to do, however repetitive.

The easy rhythm she has with Boss provides extra comfort, and she's able to tune her thoughts out in favor of doing the menial tasks required of her. When she first started working at Leblanc, she used this time to think, but she's had quite enough of her thoughts for now, thank you very much.

The time passes quickly and comfortably. Akira makes his way downstairs at some point for a bite to eat. He has his hood up, which is quite frankly more suspicious than if he just left it down and ate like a regular person. It is not as if the regulars know he's the Phantom Thief that died, and regulars are all they get.

As it is, there's an old couple throwing glances at him. The ones that come in and order a single coffee and curry and stay for hours, and they just arrived, leaving plenty of time for them to wonder about Akira's sanity. They're the only customers, but it's still best if they avoid as much suspicion as possible. She's about to tell him to just take his food upstairs, she'll clean it up herself if she has to -

The door chimes, and time freezes.

She sees Boss tense first, then Akira, which means it's not regular. They're suspicious of new people, now, and rightfully so. She turns to greet the newcomer - it'd be weird not to, and the other two are frozen - and is welcomed by a familiar face. The tension leaves her body.

Ponytail, peacoat, slouch. Shinjiro Shinjiro takes a seat in front of her. No Koromaru this time, unfortunately, but the same projected air of nonchalance. He gives her a barely noticeable smile, not even glancing at the other two - or Morgana, who has made his way downstairs. "Black coffee," he grunts more than says. Pause. He takes a breath and continues softer, with more diction. "Whatever blend you like."

Time returns to normal. Akira subtly grabs his plate and makes a quick escape upstairs. Morgana starts to retreat with him, but remains in full view on the stairs, probably to keep an eye on Shinjiro. Boss gives him a once over and returns to his work almost reluctantly.

"Hello, Aragaki-san," she says pleasantly, turning to look at their selection of coffee. He'd phrased his order like he wanted the one she likes, not like he wanted one she thought he might like. Boss relaxes a fraction of an inch behind her and starts up on a curry for the old couple. "Just a simple Blue Mountain work for you?"

Shinjiro snorts but nods. "Sure. Told ya to call me Shinjiro."

He's technically correct, since he'd only given her his first name when they'd run into each other, but that's his mistake for also giving her his business card before she metaphorically bolted home to check on Haru. She can't be expected to call him anything but his last name at first, even with how comfortable it feels to use his first name - very much unlike with the other ones from her past.

_"Listen, I know the other guys have made sure you can't contact them," he'd said. "But I don't take orders from them. Here's my card. Call me if you need anything." _

She's looked at the card so much in the past few days she has it committed to memory, even though it wasn't really necessary once she added his number to her contacts and wrote down the things she knows in her journal. _Aragaki Shinjiro,_ it reads. _Head chef._ Hamuko wouldn't have pegged him as a chef based on her original observations, but she can see it in him now.

"Alright, Shinjiro-san," she concedes, starting to brew his coffee. She can feel three sets of eyes burrowing into her as she sets to work, but she ignores them. "No Koro today?"

"Didn't think the cafe would allow dogs," he says gruffly. Morgana's ears flatten in the corner of her eye and she shoots him a look. She is not dealing with Shinjiro hearing a talking not-cat right now, on the very strong chance that he's a Persona user like she is. He's correct, anyways, even ignoring Morgana, but that doesn't stop her from being disappointed. Koro is the only thing from her past that she remembers so clearly, and it was nice to be able to touch him and prove to herself that he's real.

She goes back to wiping the counter while Shinjiro's coffee brews. "So, you've got an ulterior motive, or did you just want some good coffee?"

Shinjiro doesn't respond for a moment, accepting the finished coffee she slides in front of him and taking a sip. "Akihiko told me where to find you. We need to talk."

"Away from prying ears, I assume," she says when he fails to elaborate. "I get off work at 5."

He nods an acknowledgement. "This is good," he remarks, taking another sip. "Figured it would be, though."

"Thank you," she says. She's not sure what he means, but she can always ask later. There are more important things to talk about right now. "Do you want to meet anywhere in particular?"

"There's a shrine Koromaru likes nearby. I can send you the details." Then he pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through it, signalling a complete end to their conversation. For the best, really. She can't spend her whole shift talking to the most interesting bit of her past she's found so far, no matter how much she might want to.

But she can spend the rest of it thinking about him. What did he mean, "figured it would be?" Was she especially known for making good coffee before? She doesn't even _like_ coffee. The Blue Mountain she gave him is the only one she's found barely tolerable, so far, but that doesn't mean anything.

It's frustrating how much more other people know about her than she does, that they say things they assume she'll know the meaning of and she's left to puzzle it together while missing more than half the pieces.

Akira wanders back downstairs after a while, just as Shinjiro is finishing the last dregs of his coffee. "Hey, Hamuko," he says casually. "You get off at 5, right?" He throws a glance at Shinjiro. She does her best not to roll her eyes, only mildly succeeding. Morgana must've told him about their conversation, that snitch.

This is why she's a dog person.

Hamuko glances at the clock. 4:45. Shinjiro's been here for going on an hour, taking his time finishing his coffee. And it's well past when school ends, so she's surprised she hasn't seen a single Phantom Thief burst in so far. Though, that might be because Akira texted them to ward them off - unnecessarily, she might add. "Yes, but I'll be busy. Can whatever you want wait until later? I'll come back."

"Of course," he says, still trying to keeping his voice light, and only marginally accomplishing it. "If you're going out, will you bring Morgana? He's been getting antsy."

She gives him what she hopes is a reassuring, not annoyed, smile, but honestly - she's an adult. Memory or no, Akira's still younger than her, and Morgana is a _cat_. What do either of them think they can do to protect her against Shinjiro? "No, sorry. Shinjiro-san here will be bringing his dog, and you know Mona doesn't like dogs much."

Shinjiro interrupts to hand her the money he owes. "I'm leavin'. Text me when you get off."

"Alright, Shinjiro-san," she says. She gives a smile for extra measure.

He huffs and walks out. The second he's out the door, she wheels on Akira, hoping she doesn't look as exasperated as she feels. He just wants to protect her, she knows, because her lost memories make her more vulnerable. She tries for a patient tone. "He'd be able to hear Morgana, Akira. He's a Persona user."

"How do you know that?"

How _does_ she know that? "I don't know - I just do. Just as I know he's the Moon arcana, and I trust him."

Akira accepts this, which is to be expected. He has a Moon arcana too, she supposes. Not one she's ever met, but she's sure he has one - just as she is sure she has a friend for every major arcana.

"And I really would bring Morgana if Shinjiro weren't bringing his dog," she adds more for Morgana's benefit than for Akira's. "If he promised to be quiet."

The not-cat gives her a suspicious look but allows the subject to be dropped, thankfully. She wasn't really in the mood to argue with a cat.

(Actually, she's never in the mood to deal with Morgana, but more because he's a cat and that's _weird_ than because of the cat himself. He's perfectly pleasant, if a bit childish.)

Akira makes his way back upstairs to get ready, and she finishes the rest of her shift in peace, rolling her eyes when Boss tells her to stay safe as she leaves.

First order of business: get changed. She'll still smell like coffee and curry, but less so if she changes her clothes. She could shower, but she doesn't want to keep Shinjiro waiting for longer than she has to. Hopefully changing her clothes is enough.

She pauses in front of her mirror and carefully pulls her hair into a ponytail, deftly sliding in the bobby pins - XXII - to make it as close to who she was before as possible. When she's done she takes a step back, admiring herself.

Creme sweater, patterned orange skirt, leggings, boots. It feels familiar, comfortable, but it's missing something. It's always missing something. Everything she does, everything she wears - missing something.

Ugh.

It'll have to do.

She texts Shinjiro as she leaves Haru's house, and he sends the exact location in response. One of Haru's drivers offers to give her a ride, but she declines. She's been cooped up in the house too much lately, and the crisp winter air feels a bit refreshing.

It's already getting dark out by the time she reaches the shrine Shinjiro described to her, though it didn't actually take long for her to get there. A consequence of winter that she's never particularly been a fan of.

He's leaning on the swings, watching Koromaru run and play with the limited number of school children that are left playing at the park this late. Hamuko takes a seat on the swing next to him, observing. He's wearing a beanie, now, and his hair's down. He remains standing, not even glancing at her as she gently rocks the swing back and forth, but he does hold out something to her, wrapped in a piece of cloth. She takes it and gently unwraps it.

Headphones, along with an mp3 player that's attached to a pink lanyard.

"Fuuka wanted you to have those," Shinjiro says. "She made them for you, years ago."

She takes the lanyard and sets it around her neck, attaching the headphones to the mp3 and hanging them around her neck as well. It doesn't make her feel complete, per se, but something in her relaxes. This is what was missing from her outfit, definitely.

The cloth they were wrapped in flutters a little in the wind, and she inspects it closer. It's an orange scarf, and she assumes it was used to wrap the headphones because it's also hers. She ties it into the belt loops on her skirt, since she's not really cold enough for a scarf right now.

They sit in silence for a while, which Hamuko doesn't mind in the slightest. It's comfortable like this, in the quiet, only the sound of Koromaru running around. It's familiar, like she'd done it a million times before, and she can't really put it past him to have chosen this deliberately.

"You used to take Koromaru on a walk to the shrine every couple days," Shinjiro says, reading her mind. He says it so quietly she's not sure he said it in the first place.

She opens her mouth to ask for more details, to find out anything about who she was before, but she changes her mind. If Kirijo doesn't want her to know, it's likely Shinjiro isn't allowed to tell her, but it seems as though he would if she were to ask. She won't put him in that spot. "There was something you wanted to talk about," she says instead. "So talk."

He takes a deep breath. "Mitsuru asked me to talk to you."

"About?"

". . . the Phantom Thieves."

Oh.

He says it almost reluctantly, as if he won't press the issue further if she chooses to say no. And it comes to this; if she is asked to betray the Phantom Thieves for whatever reason, who would she choose? People she doesn't remember but knows, or people she remembers but doesn't really know?

"The Phantom Thieves?" she asks lightly. She is not choosing a side - not yet, not now - but she never told them she associates with the Phantom Thieves. "The ones on TV?"

He snorts. "We just need to know what's happening. We're in the position to protect them now, but we need to know why, or if we should. Things aren't looking too good for them right now."

"What do you want to know?" she asks cautiously, still wary but a bit more relaxed. If they're offering protection - that's good. Even if the Thieves don't want it, she wants it _for_ them. They don't have to know they're being protected.

"Are the Phantom Thieves murderers?"

She doesn't have to pause for this. "No."

"Okay," he says, not even asking for an explanation. She wouldn't give him one if he did ask, anyways, and she's sure he knows that. "I'll go now."

Had it been any of her other friends - the old ones, the ones she doesn't remember - would they have left it at that? Would they have trusted her word so implicitly? Maybe not. But Shinjiro apparently does, and whistles for Koromaru, already on his way out the shrine.

She wants to call out to him - make him stay a bit longer or something - but she doesn't really have a reason, and she told Akira she'd show up tonight. Ah, the folly of promises. She sits on the swing a little longer, though, messing with the mp3 player.

It's charged - probably Yamagishi's doing - and she puts the headphones over her ears and presses play on the first song that comes up.

_Dreamless dorm, ticking clock - _

She starts on her way to Leblanc, allowing the music to carry her through the long walk and subway ride. Soon enough she is in front of the door once more, pushing it open without hesitation and taking her place on the nearest barstool. The Thieves are in the middle of a discussion, but stop whatever they were talking about once she has settled in and removed her headphones.

"I didn't die, as you can see," she says to Morgana.

The cat huffs and sticks his face up. "Well excuse me for being worried."

"So, why am I here?" It's so tempting to ruffle his fur, but she knows if she did he'd be mad at her for eternity, so she holds off.

The Thieves exchange looks. "We want you to join the Phantom Thieves," Akira says. "We're about to tackle a huge Palace and without Akechi. . ."

"I already told you -" she starts, shaking her head.

"We talked about the Velvet Room, too, Hamuko," Akira interrupts. "I explained it to them. We need you with us to figure it out, or I'm just doing it on my own."

Whatever the Phantom Thieves are facing - that isn't her battle. She's already had her battle. But the Velvet Room. . . no, no it's still not her battle. She's not the current Master, Akira is, and it's his fight. She just needs to reach the Depths, and that can be achieved without joining the Thieves. "I can't."

"We could really use your help, though," Ann says. The others chime in their agreement.

"I'll. . . consider it. Is that enough for you?"

Akira begrudgingly accepts it as the only answer they're getting out of her at the moment, and they continue the meeting, concluding pretty soon after. Hamuko tunes them out the entire time with music. Not her battle, not her business.

She gets up with Haru to leave and gratefully accepts the offer of a ride home, since they're going to the same place. Hamuko would move out into her own place, since she has a job now, but it's not as if she has a legal ID or anything of the sort.

(She has tried to pay rent to Haru, but is always refused, annoyingly.)

They ride in silence, which is great. She uses the opportunity to listen to more music, enjoying the familiarity of it. After a while, Haru shakes her and motions for her to take the headphones off.

Her phone is ringing. This time, she knows the ringtone - it's her old phone again. She untangles it from where it's clipped on her skirt and flips it open quickly. "Hello?"

Crackling, but no answer.

"Hello," she tries again. "Theo?"

"Hamu -" his voice cuts out. "- sorry -"

She shoots Haru an alarmed look. "Theo, what -"

"Made - mistake - sorry -"

The call ends. She flips her phone closed and tries to process it. Theo made a mistake? What does that mean? What mistake?

Why was the signal so terrible?

It's hard to explain it to Haru, because she doesn't understand much of it herself, but she tries her best, and by the time they're home she's just ready to go to bed. She'll think on the call tomorrow, when she has the mental energy to.

She wishes Haru a good night and closes her door, barely pausing to throw off the extra clothes she doesn't need and immediately collapsing on her bed. She spares some energy to pull the comforter over her, and is asleep the second she's covered and warm.

* * *

_Red. _

_There's so much red. _

_She's in Mementos, this much is immediately obvious, but it's much deeper than she's ever seen in the real world. Cages full of people - Shadows? - surround her. In front of her is a towering thing, too bright to discern. _

_"They thought they could deceive me," a voice bellows. Somehow she knows it belongs to the bright thing in front of her. "Look upon the price of their trickery." _

_Her eyes are pulled down, down, to the base of the thing, where a huddled form sits on its knees, hands outstretched and chained. Her dream self steps closer, closer, until she can see the shock of blue hair against the red and black background, now dimmed by dirt and grime. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is shallow. _

_"Minato," she breathes. _

_"You would've been a valuable pawn in this game," the voice ponders. "Know this, Arisato Hamuko. Without him, you are useless. And you will lose."_


	7. vii

The first thing Hamuko does upon waking is reach for her phone. Base instinct has her typing out a number before she can even think about it - too caught up in a panic to know quite what she's trying to do - and praying that she'll get an answer.

_We're sorry, this phone number has been disconnected. _

She pulls the phone away from her ear and looks at the number. It's not one she recognizes, and it's not in her contacts. Who did she call?

. . . It doesn't matter who she tried to call, she supposes, as she won't be able to figure it out on her own.

Still blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she hesitantly navigates instead to her messaging app. There's only one person she can think of right now that will have answers for her - or, indeed, only one person she can think of she can even contact in the first place.

* * *

_Friday _

_11/25 _

_4:34 am _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: why hasn't minato contacted me _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: shouldn't he have been the first to greet me? _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: is he ok _

* * *

It's only after she sends the texts that she realizes just how early it is. Hopefully the texts don't wake Shinjiro up - while she urgently needs to know if Minato is okay, she doesn't want to disturb anyone in the process. She can wait a couple of hours.

She's too tired to even think about punctuation and capitalization, but too awake to go back to sleep, especially knowing she's likely to sleep through her alarm if she does.

Groaning, Hamuko hefts herself out of bed and gets dressed. Her pajamas are comfy, but if she stays in them she'll end up lounging around until work, and she has things to do. Like, for instance, updating the journal that has sat untouched for the past couple days.

_Metaverse,_ she writes in clear print at the top of a new page. Centered below that, in smaller print, she adds _The Depths of Mementos_. Then comes the problem of describing what she had seen in her dream, when most of what she can recall amounts to exactly what the rest of Mementos looks like - red and black, more red and black, and a dash of red and black.

_Blue hair, out of place amongst its dull surroundings, muddied with dirt - _

She closes her eyes and rubs her temples. Flashbacks aren't necessary right now, thank you, she remembers the dream perfectly well on her own.

Maybe the setting isn't as important as what was said in the dream. It's not as if she can do much based on what the bottom of Mementos looks like. They still won't be able to reach it.

What did the voice say that seemed so important?

_"Know this, Arisato Hamuko. Without him, you are useless. And you will lose." _

Without him you are useless.

Why is that sticking in her head?

Without Minato she is useless.

It feels terrifyingly accurate, as if the voice knows something she does not. And, considering how few memories she currently has, it almost certainly does. At this point, everyone knows something she doesn't.

She racks her brain for anything else to write down, but nothing seems important enough. Her memory recovery has come to a frustrating halt recently, though that's to be expected, and she's discovering she's very impatient. She wouldn't even need to be writing in this journal if she just had all her memories from the start.

There's nothing else to write.

She wants there to be more to write so badly, because then she'd be one step closer to knowing her own self.

Her phone dings, and she hurriedly grabs it to check the notification.

* * *

_Friday _

_11/25 _

_5:26 am _

_**Aragaki Shinjiro**__: Fuuka will be in touch. _

_**Aragaki Shinjiro**__: I'm sorry. _

* * *

Hamuko tries not to focus on why he would be apologizing, instead choosing to glance at the timestamp. She's been staring at her journal for almost an hour, which is a bit ridiculous. There has to be something better for her to do - she has work in an hour, so maybe she can spend the extra time getting ready for real. She's already dressed, of course, but that doesn't mean she can't shower and get re-dressed. Maybe stop somewhere for breakfast so she doesn't end up eating curry for the millionth time in a row.

The shower is refreshing, at the very least. She gets re-dressed and packs up to head out, making sure her headphones are draped around her neck and both her evoker and her flip phone are tucked safely into the waistband of her skirt. It feels wrong to go without them.

Her phone dings again just as she's opening the door to leave.

* * *

_Friday _

_11/25 _

_5:52 am _

_**Lucia**__: Hello. Are you free? I know it's early. _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: I'm on my way to get breakfast. I have work at 6:30. _

_**Lucia**__: Where are you going for breakfast? We can meet you there. _

_**Lucia**__: That is, if you want your answers now. _

_**Arisato Hamuko**__: We? _

_**Lucia**__: Mitsuru and I. _

* * *

She deliberates for a moment on whether she can wait and decides she can be a little late for work. She gives Yamagishi the directions to the diner in Shibuya she frequents, and then texts Boss to let him know she'll run a little late and that she'll work later to make up for it. After receiving the okay from both, she continues heading out.

The diner isn't very busy, having only been open for an hour or so. Most people are either asleep or don't have time to stop, so it's easy to find the red hair she knows to look for, the only thing she can think of to identify Kirijo and Yamagishi - since she doesn't know what Yamagishi looks like at all.

Kirijo clearly spotted her before she came in, because when she sees them Kirijo is calmly waving her over. She does so hesitantly, wanting answers but only now realizing she's nervous to receive them.

Hamuko slides into the booth across from Kirijo and a teal haired woman - presumably Yamagishi - and gives what is probably a shaky smile. "Hello, Kirijo-san, Yamagishi-san," she says, bowing her head a little.

Yamagishi giggles and pushes a plate towards her - breakfast. "You can call us by our first names, Hamuko. You may not remember us, but you're still our friend."

She won't justify that with a response, but her first instinct is to tell them no. She doesn't technically know them. "Shinjiro said you'd tell me about Minato," she says instead, and starts digging into her eggs.

Yamagishi glances at Kirijo, who gives a small nod. "He went on a mission a few months back," she starts gently. "Sanctioned by the Shadow Operatives, of course, but he wouldn't tell us what he was actually doing. Just that it was life-and-death and he would tell us when he got back."

Life-and-death. And they let him go alone? Figuring that's a bit rude considering she doesn't have all the information yet, she settles for a different question. "And then he never came back?"

"He said it could take up to a year. Until then, we weren't to look for him. We thought it might worry you, even assuming you remembered him in the first place."

"But I do remember him. And I am worried."

"I'm sorry, but he didn't give us any contact info. He left his phone behind."

Her anger rises more, and this time she can't prevent herself from reacting. "So he could be in danger and you just wouldn't know? What kind of -"

"Aigis is with him," Kirijo interjects with a bland reassuring tone. "But she follows his orders, not ours. He doesn't want to be looked for until the year is up, so she wouldn't answer if we tried. And we have tried."

She does manage to prevent her instinctual response of "so try harder" from coming out, but just barely. It's clear that they can see her frustration though, as Yamagishi gives her an apologetic look. "That's all the information I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?" she asks them.

Yamagishi frowns. "We're sorry, Hamuko. That's all the information we have."

"But there is something we wanted to talk about," Kirijo continues. "Shinjiro said you believe in the justice of the Phantom Thieves."

"I do," Hamuko says without hesitation.

Kirijo nods. "Then they have enemies. They'll need protection. Do they know you have a Persona?"

"They found me in the Metaverse."

"So they do. Have they asked you to join them?"

Hamuko pauses at this and considers her answer carefully, eventually deciding Kirijo most likely means no harm. "They have."

"You'll need to accept."

"I can't -"

"The only way to keep them safe is to have someone on the team," Kirijo says firmly. "You're the only one in that position. We'll need to know when they're in the Metaverse and where they are in order to have any chance of preventing disaster."

She hadn't considered that. Kirijo, frustratingly, has a point. "I'll need your contact info if you want me to do that. And I need to get to work."

Kirijo hands her a business card, and she gets up to leave. The time on her phone reads 6:43 am - so she needs to head straight for work. No time to stay and ask any more questions. Both Kirijo and Yamagishi wish her a pleasant goodbye, and she momentarily feels bad for being so angry earlier. Momentarily.

* * *

She ends up reaching Leblanc just before it hits 7, and she manages to work until 4 without being disturbed by any of the Phantom Thieves - Akira apparently having decided to stay in his room all day.

"I assume you'll need the shop to be closed," Hamuko says in lieu of greeting as Futaba pushes open the door. Futaba nods and heads upstairs, so Hamuko goes and turns the sign to "closed." It's not as if they had any customers anyways.

The rest of the Phantom Thieves file in over the course of the hour, with Akira, Futaba, and Morgana, making their way downstairs eventually. Everyone keeps glancing at her - she can feel their eyes on her even as she makes their coffee - and she's mentally bracing herself throughout their meeting for them to finally work up to asking her the Dreaded Question.

"So, Hamuko," Ann begins with an air of false nonchalance. "Have you thought about joining?"

"We know the keywords," Akira continues imploringly. "We've been inside. We need your help.

Hamuko takes a deep breath and looks around at the Phantom Thieves. They watch her with earnest hope - they know what it is inside. They say they need her help. If the Palace is that bad, perhaps she should -

_But it isn't your story_, the voice inside her head reminds her.

_"The only way to keep them safe is to have someone on the team," Kirijo had said. "You're the only one in that position." _

Perhaps it'd be better for her to meddle a bit.

"Okay," she says. "I'll join the Phantom Thieves."

Akira grins. "Great! You start right now."

* * *

The Palace isn't what she expected - though she supposes it's hard to have expectations for something she's never experienced. The Diet Building doesn't seem to change even as she feels her surroundings warp, but after a moment she's turned around by Akira, who is now wearing his Phantom Thieves outfit.

Oh.

It's a cruise ship. They're on the deck, surrounded on all sides by water that reaches the horizon. The only sign of land - or the previous existence of it - is the tops of the Tokyo skyscrapers peeking out in front of them.

"His distortion is centered on the Diet Building," Akira had said on their way over.. "But it encompasses all of Tokyo."

In context that sounds pretty reasonable. After all, the Palace itself isn't that big - not all of Tokyo big - and she hadn't even noticed the change at first. Looking out on the miles and miles of water, though, she can't believe it's just "all of Tokyo." All of the world, more like, with the way the water has flooded. A hellish Noah's Ark comprised of only the richest and the skeeziest.

The Palace may not be big, but the distortion is bigger than she could've ever thought possible. What sort of twisted mind could create something this large?

. . . She shouldn't think too hard about it.

"Are you ready?" Akira asks.

She grips the naginata that had been provided to her and braces herself. "Yeah, I'm ready."

He nods and motions for everyone to enter. She feels out of place without a costume - she's just a regular person in regular clothes - but isn't sure how she'd feel about her Persona suddenly deciding she needs one. She decides to just focus on the task at hand.

Sleazeball number 1, 2, 3, and 4 pass without relative incident, unless you count them being disgusting, or the occasional necessity to turn into mice to get through the ship. She tries to take a backburner approach to fighting, only coming in when they really need her help - after all, she's there to make sure they're safe, not to fight their battles for them.

It's the boiler room that gives them trouble.

The Cleaner is a powerful enemy, and Hamuko needs to step in more often - mostly healing her teammates, but occasionally using her turn to send out a good megidolaon. After what seems like forever, Akira delivers the final blow, and they receive the final envelope.

"What now?" Hamuko asks.

"Once we see the treasure, we leave and send a calling card," Futaba informs her. "Then we come back that day and steal it."

That seems simple enough, even knowing they always get caught and have to fight, according to Akira. Doesn't seem very thief-like to her, but who is she to judge?

They exit the room the Cleaner was in and are faced with -

Akechi Goro.

He smiles calmly. "Long time no see." Ignoring Ryuji's exclamation of surprise, he continues in a level voice. "I'm impressed that you manage to deceive me. It seems I underestimated your abilities. You truly are interesting. . . quiet, yet possessing the courage and determination to take action. Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals. Or perhaps even friends."

It's hard to read Akira's emotions at the best of times but his voice is softer than it usually is as Joker when he responds. "Don't be ridiculous."

"How wonderful," Akechi says with a laugh. "You don't allow yourself to be enslaved by such things as human relations or past selves, and so your heart is always free. The exact opposite of mine. To be honest, I'm envious." He pauses and muses, quieter, "I wonder why we couldn't have met a few years earlier, Akira."

Akira takes a step back, as if genuinely startled. He opens his mouth but no words come out - instead, Ann speaks up. "Akechi. . ." she trails off worriedly.

Something in Akechi seems to shift. "But there's no use talking in hypotheticals. That didn't happen in reality."

"Akechi," Makoto says. "Why are you cooperating with someone like Shido? Don't you see what this Palace looks like? His true nature is. . ."

"Cooperating. . .?" Akechi asks with a small laugh. "What are you talking about? I don't care for Shido, or this country. All of this is to make Masayoshi Shido - my father - acknowledge me. Then I will exact revenge on him."

His father.

That. . . makes an unfortunate amount of sense.

"Shido is your father?" Yusuke echoes her thoughts.

"Remember I said before," Akechi continues in his calm voice, "how my mother had been in a relationship with some good for nothing man? So I'm his bastard child. My very existence is nothing but a scandal. My mother's life turned for the worst after she had me, and she died. I was a cursed child for her too.

"I resented him, but he was already a high-ranking official by then. A kid like me could do nothing. But that's when it happened," he breaks off into a chuckle, opening his arms for dramatic effect. "That's when I learned about the cognitive world! Someone, be it god or demon, gave me a chance! I couldn't contain my laughter!"

Hamuko watches as the Phantom Thieves react restlessly. This is reminding her of something, but she can't put her finger on it. So familiar. . .

"Who cares? My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. All I did was remove their evil from society. How is that any different from the Phantom Thieves?"

"We're not murderers!" Ann calls out.

"So what? Masayoshi Shido is finally within my grasp! Once he reaches the apex of his power and acknowledges me, I'm going to whisper in his ear - I'll tell him the truth of who I really am! And that's when I - an utter disgrace to the world - will rule over him. I will prevail!

"In just a few weeks, my plan would have come to fruition. . . but no, you just had to interfere. I can still take it back though. I'll just need to kill you."

With that, Akechi rips off his mask and summons some Shadows.

It goes much the same as every other fight has so far, if a bit harder. Hamuko defaults to just healing everyone as much as she can, occasionally taking a moment to restore her strength.

Akechi continues talking throughout the fight, but she's too focused on trying to keep everyone alive to know exactly what he's saying - only taking note when his entire outfit changes and he starts going harder at the Thieves. Haru starts helping her heal, which is good because at the rate Akechi is going she's not sure she can keep up.

It takes longer than they were originally planning on spending in the Metaverse, but eventually Akechi is on the ground panting. "I've had enough," he says raggedly. He looks up and meets Akira's eyes. "You're so lucky. Lucky to be surrounded by teammates who acknowledge you. And once Shido confesses his crimes, you'll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish."

Morgana makes a small noise of understanding. "So you were turning people psychotic, then solving the cases yourself. And you did that by joining forces with Shido."

"In the end, I couldn't be special," Akechi says.

All at once, she's reminded that this is a child - verging on adulthood, sure, but still just a child. They're all children. The same age as - as -

"It pains me to admit," Makoto says, "but your wit and strength far exceeds ours. We only defeated you by teaming up. I was honestly envious of your natural ability. It was frustrating to see how much my sister trusted you. . ."

Haru glances at the others before speaking up. "I have no intention for forgiving you for what you did to my father, but I sympathize with you. I wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at the adults who took from you."

The rest of the Phantom Thieves agree with Haru's sentiment, which is understandable. From what she knows, they founded it based on getting back at adults in the first place. The Thieves and Akechi are more similar than either ever thought, she supposes.

"We're gonna take Shido down," Ryuji says. "What're you gonna do?"

Akechi laughs in disbelief. "Are you all idiots? You should get rid of me if you don't want me getting in your way. You are all truly beyond my comprehension."

From the shadows steps a man in a light brown suit -

_Bound hands, the whistle of wind, and a voice proclaiming that the end of the world is near - _

"Did you truly believe you'd be spared after all the murders you undertook?" Cognitive Akechi asks in a flat tone.

_"Kill them," says the man in the brown suit. _

"Here, I'll give you one last chance," Cognitive Akechi says. "Shoot them."

_Two shots, both ringing true - _

_Mitsuru sits on her knees, cradling the body of what Hamuko knows to be her father. The brown suited man takes two steps, three steps, four steps backwards, pressing his hand to the bleeding wound in his chest. "You'll see," he says in promise. "You'll see." _

_He steps off of the rooftop. _

Akechi stands shakily and aims his gun directly at Akira.

_A child sits huddled over a still body much larger than him, bathed in a familiar green glow. The child is sobbing, covered in blood - whether it is his or the figure's, she doesn't know. Movement in the corner of her eye draws her attention to the man standing nearby, gun still raised and metaphorically smoking. The man grins - crazy, wild-eyed - and takes his leave, knowing she will not be able to give chase. _

_She takes a hesitant step forward, bringing the body's face into full view. _

_Shinji. _

_He takes a shuddering breath but does not awaken. _

Cognitive Akechi grins. "Yes, that's the you our captain wishes to see."

_She is standing in front of an impossible structure, twisting and turning and jutting up into the sky much farther than should be possible. At the top of a set of steps stands a girl and a boy, hugging. The wild-eyed man steps out of the shadows, giving the same crazed grin. _

_The same gun raises up and shoots. _

_Her eyes follow the bullet - _

"You misunderstand," Akechi says, and in that instant she knows what he intends to do.

_A man stumbling backwards, a child crying, a baseball cap soaked in blood - _

"Akechi, no," Hamuko says quietly.

Time seems to slow. Akechi turns his gun to Cognitive Akechi and shoots twice.

"No," she shouts, and Orpheus-Telos reacts just as Akechi turns in the other direction, shooting a control panel she's sure she noticed on their way to defeat the Cleaner.

A hand grabs her and pulls her back, farther away from the double Akechis, jerking her head away from the scene in the process. She misses the split second between the announcement and the wall coming down, and by the time she recovers she is staring at Akechi's startled face as he leans against the wall he brought down.

"You saved me," he says in disbelief.

She glances nervously at the others, but they don't seem angry with her. Akira actually looks relieved. "I've watched too many people die."

Akira smiles at her and turns his attention to Akechi. "Come on, Akechi. Let's go figure out the rest of your life."


End file.
